§ Mr. ChidgeyTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many complaints about vehicles emitting excessive exhaust fumes have been referred to the Vehicles Inspectorate in each of the last five years. [3471]
§ Mr. NorrisI have asked the chief executive of the Vehicle Inspectorate executive agency to write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Ron Oliver to Mr. David Chidgey, dated 30 November 1995:
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question concerning the number of complaints about vehicles emitting excessive exhaust fumes referred to the Vehicle Inspectorate in each of the last 5 years.We cannot quantify the total number of complaints received on smoke emissions; many complaints made are on an ad hoc basis and do not exclusively deal with excessive exhaust fumes. However, since 1991 the Vehicle Inspectorate has run a system where members of the public can ring the "Smoky Vehicle Hotline" and report commercial vehicles seen producing excessive amounts of exhaust smoke.The total number of reports received via the Hotline for the past 5 years were: 881W
- 1991/92: 1,483
- 1992/93: 2,481
- 1993/94: 2,887
- 1994/95: 8,113
- April to October 1995: 11,861