§ Mr. DunnTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he has come to a firm conclusion on the future of vehicle inspectorate testing functions.
§ Mr. MacGregorI have decided, in the light of responses to the proposals outlined last May, and taking account of the work I subsequently commissioned from consultants Price Waterhouse, not to transfer the vehicle inspectorate's testing activities to the private sector.
795WThe consultants concluded that while privatisation was feasible a number of my main objectives, including, in particular, the development of significant competition in the provision of testing services and the transfer of the freeholds of the testing sites to the purchasers, would not be possible if a successful sale was to be achieved. Moreover, their analysis drew attention to the possibility that privatisation might limit the scope for innovation in the future provision of testing services, a concern shared by the road transport industry. The consultants also confirmed the views previously expressed to me that most customers believe that they are well served by the vehicle inspectorate.
In deciding that the whole of the inspectorate should remain an executive agency of the Department of Transport I have instructed the chief executive to develop plans which will build substantially on the organisation's current levels of efficiency and quality of service. I have asked the chief executive to report quickly to me on the scope for substantial future savings. I will also be taking forward an initiative to facilitate a significant expansion of the arrangements for on site testing by the inspectorate's staff at operators' own, suitably equipped premises. This featured in the industry's own response to my original proposals.