§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what was the cost of the building lease for the(a) Crosby, (b) Norris Green, (c) Southport, (d) Garston and (e) St. Helens driving centres in the last year for which figures are available. [53814]
§ Ms Glenda JacksonThe licence payment under the memorandum of Terms of Occupation held with the Employment Services Agency for Crosby was £13,416 p.a. Under similar arrangements with the Department for Social Services, the licence payment for the driving test centre at Southport was £3,420 in 1997–98. Lease costs for the test centres at Norris Green and St. Helens were £3,600 and £3,480 respectively. Garston is a freehold property.
§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on the long-term future of(a) Southport,(b) Norris Green, (c) Garston and (d) St. Helens driving test centres; how many years are left before the leases expire for each driving test centre; and what penalty clauses are associated with the leases. [53815]
§ Ms Glenda JacksonUnder the terms of the Driving Standard Agency's agreement with the Department of Social Security the lease on the driving test centre at Southport will expire on 31 March 2001. The Agency's test centres at Norris Green and St. Helens are purpose built premises with ground leases that will expire on 15 March 2081 and 15 November 2080 respectively. The test centre at Garston is freehold.
If any of these centres were to close, then the Agency would seek to assign or sell its interest in the property. If an alternative occupant or purchaser could not be found, the penalty would be having to pay the continuing cost of the property.
435WThe Agency keeps its test centre estate under regular review to ensure that centres can provide tests of a satisfactory standard whilst maintaining acceptable local levels of service in a cost effective manner.
§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what factors led to the closure of Crosby Driving Test Centre. [53812]
§ Ms Glenda JacksonThe Crosby driving test centre had to close because the major occupier of the building—the Employment Service Agency—required the Driving Standards Agency to vacate the premises.
§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what assessment he has made of the advantage of establishing regional driving test centres to replace existing test centres. [53811]
§ Ms Glenda JacksonThe Driving Standards Agency has made no assessment of replacing the current network of local driving test centres with centres serving each region.
§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on the income generated by the(a) Crosby, (b) Norris Green, (c) Southport, (d) Garston and (e) St. Helens driving test centres relative to the expenditure associated with the each test centre. [53810]
§ Ms Glenda JacksonThe table compares the income from car driving test fees with the property and staff costs at each of the test centres in the financial year 1997–98:
£ Test centre Income from car test fees Property and staff costs Crosby 123,910 109,249 Norris Green 174,707 121,069 Southport 104,486 45,872 Garston 139,883 111,053 St. Helens 110,375 69.491