§ Mrs. DunwoodyTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the number of spot-checks undertaken on heavy goods vehicles and public service vehicles for the west midlands area for each of the last five years.
§ Mr. NorrisThis is an operational matter for the Vehicle Inspectorate. I have asked the chief executive to write to the hon. member.
Letter from Ron Oliver to Mrs. Gwyneth Dunwoody, dated 10 January 1995:
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question about the number of vehicle spot-checks undertaken on heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) and public service vehicles (PSVs) for the West Midlands Traffic Area for each of the last five years.
The table below outlines both roadworthiness checks (the mechanical condition of the vehicle) and traffic enforcement checks (the use to which the vehicle is put i.e. drivers' hours, operator licensing etc).
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Roadworthiness HGV PSV Years Number of spot checks Years Number of spot checks 1993–94 15,348 1993–94 3,491 1992–93 10,145 1992–93 2,471 1991–92 9,552 1991–92 2,403 1990–91 6,126 1990–91 1,370 1989–90 5,258 1989–90 1,497
Traffic enforcement HGV PSV Year Number of spot checks Year Number of spot checks 1993–94 19,212 1993–94 2,337 1992–93 17,239 1992–93 2,489 1991–92 20,938 1991–92 1,882 1990–91 22,240 1990–91 1,754 1989–90 23,570 1989–90 1,473 I hope this information is sufficient to answer your query. More information on checks in the West Midlands and elsewhere is available in the Traffic Commissioner Annual Reports and the Licensing Authority Annual Reports, copies of which should be available through the House of Commons Library.
§ Mrs. DunwoodyTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list for each of the Vehicle Inspectorate testing stations in the west midlands traffic area, the number of staff employed in each of the last five years.
§ Mr. NorrisThis is an operational matter for the Vehicle Inspectorate. I have asked the chief executive to write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Ron Oliver to Mrs. Gwyneth Dunwoody, dated 10 January 1995:
Vehicle Inspectorate Staff Employed in the West Midlands Traffic Area.
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question about the number of staff that have been employed by the Vehicle Inspectorate in the West Midlands Traffic Area during the last five years.The table below gives a breakdown of the total number of staff by year, by a broad categorisation of employment. The attached table gives more detailed information by testing station location and includes staff working on both the Vehicle Testing and Road Transport Enforcement side of the Inspectorate's work. It has not been possible to separate out the VI staff located at testing stations without disproportionate cost.
Technical Administrative Industrial Total 1990–91 51 31 25 107 1991–921 2 84 37 23 144 1992–932 81 37 22 140 1993–94 75 36 22 133 1994–95 73 31 20 124 (Numbers are full-time equivalent and have been rounded to the nearest unit)
1 The increase in Technical and Administrative staff in 1993–94 results from the amalgamation of the traffic Examiners organisation into the Vehicle Inspectorate as at I April 1991.
2 It has not been possible to separate South Wales Traffic Area staff out from the West Midlands Traffic area in the first 2 years following the amalgamation.
I hope this information is sufficient but, if you have any further questions about the Inspectorate's operations, please contact me at the above address.
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Numbers of Staff Heavy Goods Vehicle Testing Station Year Technical Admin Industrial Total Shrewsbury 1990–91 4 5 3 212 1991–92 4 2 3 29 1992–93 5 2 3 210 1993–94 3 2 3 8 1994–95 3 2 3 8 Birmingham 1990–91 17 9 7 233 1991–92 18 9 6 233 1992–93 16 9 6 231 1993–94 7 5 6 18 1994–95 7 3 6 16 Wolverhampton 1990–91 14 8 9 231 1991–92 15 8 7 230 1992–93 15 8 6 229 1993–94 7 4 6 17 1994–95 6 3 5 14 Stoke 1990–91 16 7.5 6.5 230 1991–92 15 5.5 6.5 227 1992–93 15 6 7 228 1993–94 5 5 7 17 1994–95 5 5 6 16 In addition to the above numbers of staff located in VI offices at HGV testing stations, the following are located in other VI offices in the West Midlands traffic area.
Year Technical Admin Industrial Total Other Vehicle 1990–91 0 1 0 1 Inspectorate 1991–92 32 13 0 145 offices3 1992–93 30 13 0 143 1993–94 52 21 0 373 1994–95 52 18 0 370 1 Includes some staff employed in the South Wales Traffic Area. It is not possible to separate out West Midlands. 2 Includes staff working on the Road Traffic Enforcement side of the Inspectorate's work. 3 Includes staff located in VI offices at HGV testing stations.
§ Mrs. DunwoodyTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list each multi-agency road check undertaken on HGV and public service vehicles and the number of vehicles inspected together with the number of those receiving prohibition or defect notices for the west midlands area for each of the last 12 months.
§ Mr. NorrisThis is an operational matter for the Vehicle Inspectorate. I have asked the chief executive to write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Ron Oliver to Mrs. Gwyneth Dunwoody, dated 10 January 1995:
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question regarding the number of multi-agency checks undertaken on heavy goods vehicles (HGVs), and passenger carrying vehicles (PCVs), and the number of vehicles inspected together with the number of those receiving prohibition or defect notices carried out in the West Midlands Traffic Area during the last 12 months.Unfortunately not all of the information you require is available. A total of 15 checks were carried out over the period which resulted in 1,433 vehicles being inspected. I have attached a table which provides a breakdown of the checks, I am unable to provide details of how many prohibition or defect notices were issued as a result of these specific checks as such information is not recorded in our 80W management information system and any additional information can only be provided at disproportionate cost.If you have any further questions about the Inspectorate's operations, please contact me at the above address.
Multi agency checks conducted in the West Midlands traffic area December 1993–November 1994 Date Number of multi-agency checks Number of vehicles inspected December 1993 0 0 January 1994 1 10 February 1994 1 10 March 1994 1 41 April 1994 1 39 May 1994 2 262 June 1994 1 98 July 1994 2 186 August 1994 1 177 September 1994 2 100 October 1994 1 420 November 1994 2 90 Total 15 1,433
§ Mr. David PorterTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on his policy and powers to order random and regular safety inspections of public service vehicles; and what plans he has to increase such checks.
§ Mr. Norris[holding answer 20 December 1994]: Each year the Secretary of State approves a programme of safety inspections on public service vehicles, which includes a target number of random and regular safety checks undertaken on his behalf by traffic and vehicle examiners from the Vehicle Inspectorate. The programme includes provision for traffic commissioners to request additional safety inspections where required for specific purposes. The number of inspections is kept under review and may be adjusted as necessary.
§ Mr. David PorterTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many public service vehicles and minibuses carrying school children have been found to be defective in regular and random inspections in the last two years for which figures are available in(a) Suffolk, (b) Norfolk and (c) England and Wales; and what action has been taken in each case.
§ Mr. Norris[holding answer 20 December 1994]: This is an operational matter for the Vehicle Inspectorate. I have asked the chief executive to write to my hon. Friend.
Letter from Ron Oliver to Mr. David Porter, dated 10 January 1995:
81WSchool bus checks.The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question about checks on public service vehicles (PSVs) and minibuses carrying school children in Norfolk, Suffolk and England and Wales. Unfortunately, whilst we collect management information on checks on PSVs including any follow-up action, we do not distinguish between those carrying school children and others. The Inspectorate is also unable to provide data on a county by county basis as it is collected by Traffic Areas which do not relate to county boundaries.The table attached gives the number of PSVs inspected at roadside checks during 1992–293 and 1993–94 and the number of immediate and delayed prohibitions issued. Additional information can only be provided at a disproportionate cost.If you have nay further questions about the Inspectorate's operations, please contact me at the above address.
PSV spot checks 1992–93 and 1993–94 1992–93 1993–94 Traffic area Number of PSVs inspected Immediate prohibitions Delayed prohibitions Number of PSVs inspected Immediate Prohibitions Delayed prohibitions Scotland 4,059 264 157 4,292 234 130 S. Western 4,813 245 135 5,191 316 170 N. Eastern 4,237 138 90 4,604 277 261 S. Wales 1,853 110 117 2,035 81 79 West Midlands 2,471 68 50 3,491 86 79 Western 2,883 139 146 2,947 89 128 Eastern 2,995 124 92 3,060 150 99 S. Eastern 6,231 211 280 4,066 164 255 Total 29,542 1,299 1,067 29,686 1,397 1,197