§ Mr. DonohoeTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what discussions have taken place between his Department and the legal authorities in England, Wales and Scotland in relation to the prosecution of offences involving HGVs reported by the Vehicle Inspectorate; [6359]
(2) if he will list for each of the last five financial years for (a) England, (b) Wales and (c) Scotland (i) how many HGV offences have been reported to the legal authorities, (ii) how many of these offences have been pursued and (iii) how many HGV inspections in total have taken place.[6360]
§ Mr. Bowis[holding answer 28 November 1996]I have asked the chief executive of the Vehicle Inspectorate to write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Ron Oliver to Mr. Brian Donohoe, dated 29 November 1996:
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your questions concerning:
- 1 What discussions have taken place between his Department and the legal authorities in England, Wales and Scotland in relation to the prosecution of offences involving HGVs reported by the Vehicle Inspectorate; and
- 2 The number of HGV offences reported to the legal authorities for each of the last 5 financial years for (a) England, (b) Wales and (c) Scotland; (i) how many HGV offences have been reported to the legal authorities; (ii) how many of these offences have been pursued; and (iii) how many HGV inspections in total have taken place.
In England and Wales prosecutions are undertaken by the Vehicle Inspectorate's own Prosecution and Legal Services department. Therefore no discussions have taken place with legal authorities regarding HGV offences. In Scotland, offences are reported for prosecution to the Procurator Fiscal and discussions are underway between the Inspectorate and the Crown Agent in Scotland about cases referred to the Procurator Fiscal which are not pursued.Details of HGV offences reported for prosecution for each of the last 3 financial years are shown on the attached table.