§ Mr. WallerTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received from the Director General of Fair Trading about measures required to protect potential purchasers of unroadworthy vehicles; and if he plans to seek changes to the law in this field.
§ Mr. AtkinsThe Director General has suggested that we strengthen that part of the Road Traffic Act 1988 which makes it an offence to sell unroadworthy vehicles. We have told him we propose to amend the Act at the earliest legislative opportunity.
He has also supported the trading standards officers' request for powers to inspect used cars on dealers' premises. This requires special expertise and we have pointed out that these powers are already available to authorised examiners, including examiners from the vehicle inspectorate. The vehicle inspectorate is keen to respond to any requests from individual trading standards officers.