§ Mr. Corbettasked the Secretary of State for the Environment when he proposes to lift the embargo on the appointment and reappointment of garages as authorised examiners for MOT tests: and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. MulleyThe embargo will be lifted on 30th June, and applications for appointment will then be received. Garages which have been compulsorily withdrawn from the scheme may apply when the appropriate time has elapsed since the date of their withdrawal; this is two years in the case of a documentation offence and five years in all other cases.
Applicants will be expected to provide the wider range of equipment and facilities to which I referred on 29th July 1974, and which has now been specified in detailed consultation with the garage industry and other interests. I know that there is a long list of garages waiting to apply, and the process of fulfilling the requirements of the scheme and installing the new equipment will inevitably take time. I am sure that those wishing to join the scheme will bear this in mind.
This scheme is designed to protect the public from the dangers of defective vehicles, and my predecessors in office 398W have always taken a serious view of failures to carry out the prescribed test with proper care. I believe, however, that a garage's authorisation should not normally be withdrawn without at least one warning; and the present practice will be modified accordingly.