§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Secretary of State for Transport what was the original estimate for the establishment of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Centre in Swansea; what was the revised cost; how many revisions took place; what is the cost to 25th June 1977; and when and at what cost the final figure is expected to be established.
§ Mr. HoramIn 1965 the cost of establishing the centralised driver and vehicle licensing system, at then current prices, was estimated at £95 million over the subsequent 10 years. The latest estimate covers 14 years up to 1982 and at current prices is £465 million. Both estimates include the cost of running the old local authority system and the new centralised system in parallel during the period of transition from the one to the other. The original costings were revised in 1968 and 1970 and have been updated annually since 1972. The cost to the end of March 1977 was £240 million. The actual cost over the 14 years period will be known in mid-1982.