§ Mr. BoswellTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what provision he is making for the testing of roadside emissions equipment and for the training of its operators. [155673]
§ Mr. HillRoadside exhaust emissions testing is already carried out by personnel from the Department's Vehicle Inspectorate. They are fully trained to carry out this work and use the same specification equipment for testing as that which is used in MOT testing stations.
We plan to extend the power to carry out roadside exhaust emissions checks to local authorities which have declared Air Quality Management Areas designated under section 83 of the Environment Act 1995. We hope that this will be possible from April 2002, and we plan to consult further with interested parties on detailed issues such as training of personnel over this next few months.