§ Mr. Matthew TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the annual cost of promoting the smoky vehicle telephone hotline.
§ Mr. NorrisThe cost of printing and distributing leaflets informing members of the public about how to report smoky vehicles through the telephone hotline has been £13,771 to date. The annual cost of operating the hotline is in the region of £5,500.
§ Mrs. DunwoodyTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many calls have been made to date to the smoky vehicles hotline; how many resulted in action being taken against the operator concerned; and what has been the total cost to public funds to date of the hotline.
§ Mr. NorrisSince 1 April 1991, a total of 8,258 reports of excessively smoky vehicles have been received by the Vehicle Inspectorate.
Action is taken in all cases where sufficient information is reported, about 75 per cent. Operators are asked to have their vehicle checked and are warned that continued use of an excessively smoky vehicle could be in contravention of the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986.
118WSince 1 April 1991, the total cost of operating the hotline and of printing and distributing promotional leaflets has been in the region of £30,000.