HL Deb 02 April 1990 vol 517 cc1239-40WA
Lord Brougham and Vaux

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What further progress they have made towards the implementation in the Department of Transport of the recommendations in the Efficiency Unit's report entitled Improving Management in Government: The Next Steps.

Viscount Davidson

My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Transport is today establishing three further executive agencies in his department: the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), the Driving Standards Agency (DSA) and the Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA). He is delegating clear responsibilities for improvements in efficiency, effectiveness and customer services to the chief executives. Those delegations are set out in the agencies' published framework documents; copies have been placed in the Library.

Each year, my right honourable friend shall set these agencies demanding financial and service targets, and those targets will be published in annual business plans. He has arranged for copies of the 1990-91 business plans to be placed in the Library. The agencies will also publish annual reports; again, copies will be put in the Library.

DVLA has some 5,500 staff, the majority based at its headquarters in Swansea. It is responsible for the registration and licensing of vehicles and drivers, and for the collection and enforcement of vehicle excise duty. Following an open competition my right honourable friend is appointing Mr. Stephen Curtis, formerly chief executive of Companies House, to be DVLA's first chief executive. DSA is responsible for the testing of drivers and driving instructors. Most of its 2,000 staff are driving examiners, who conduct driving tests from the nationwide network of driving test centres. My right honourable friend is appointing Dr. Christopher Woodman to be DCA's first chief executive. VCA is a small specialised organisation, less than 100 strong, which is responsible for testing new models of vehicle and vehicle parts for conformity to specific safety and environmental standards. Most of its staff are based at its headquarters in Bristol. My right honourable friend is appointing Mr. Derek Harvey as VCA's first chief executive.

We wish the chief executives and their staffs every success for the future. We are confident that the enhanced responsibilities which they will have in the areas of finance, contracts and personnel, will enable them to meet their twin objectives of providing yet further improvements in service to the public while giving better value for money.

Where honourable or right honourable Members have queries about matters relating to the operation of those agencies, I hope they will write in the first instance to the chief executives. My right honourable friend and my honourable friend the Minister with responsibility for roads and traffic will of course continue to deal with questions of policy or where there is dissatisfaction with an agency's reply.