§ Mrs. DunwoodyTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) how many spot checks have been carried out, how many heavy goods vehicles and public service vehicles were inspected and how many defect and prohibition notices were issued in the north-west region in the last two years;
(2) how many vehicle spot checks were carried out by the Vehicle Inspectorate in (a) the north-west region and (b) the Cheshire region in each of the last five years.
§ Mr. NorrisThis is an operational matter for the Vehicle Inspectorate. The Chief Executive has written to the hon. Member.
Letter from Ron Oliver to Mrs. Gwyneth Dunwoody, dated 21 November 1994:
123WThe Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your questions about vehicle spot checks in the North West region and in the county of Cheshire. Unfortunately the Inspectorate cannot provide data on a county by county basis because the Road Transport Enforcement division is organised into 23 area groups—these do not correspond with county boundaries. However, regional data is available.Table 1 gives a breakdown of the total number of roadworthiness spot checks of heavy goods (HGVs) and public service vehicles (PSVs) in the North West region. Vehicles are subject to spot checks at the roadside and, in the case of HGVs and PSVs, at operators' premises.The hon. Lady asked a further question on the total number of spot checks carried out on HGVs and PSVs in the north west region, and the number of prohibition and defect notices issued. The information is summarised in table 2 below.
Table 2 Vehicle type and year Number of spot checks Number of prohibitions Number of defect notices HGVs 1992–93 36,889 3,902 7,376 1993–94 34,087 3,634 7,273 PSVs 1992–93 6,090 507 1,289 1993–94 6,840 658 1,389 I hope this information is sufficient, but if the hon. Lady has any further questions about the inspectorate's operations please contact me at the above address.