MOT waiting times back on target

The Driver & Vehicle Testing Agency (DVTA) today revealed that waiting times for MOT tests have come down significantly since the summer and are now back on track.

Chief Executive Stanley Duncan said he was pleased with the progress made and that it had been a tough period for customers and staff who have had to cope with a massive surge in demand.

"In early July, most customers had to wait for over six weeks, and some for considerably longer than that," Mr Duncan said.

"Now the average is less than three weeks, in line with our target, despite the fact that demand has remained at or above last year's levels. The improvement is partly because all of our test centres have now re-opened after refurbishment. However, it is primarily down to a lot of hard work by staff right across DVTA, who have been putting in extra hours and improving productivity."

Mr Duncan pointed out that despite the improvement the pressure would remain.

"We are though, not complacent and we may get blips. For example, we normally get a big surge of applications after Christmas, so the rate of improvement may slow temporarily in the New Year. Obviously we are also concerned about any industrial action, which may take place by civil servants.

"However, I am confident that customers will get the benefit not just of the new high-tech testing Centres but also of low waiting times over a sustained period," he added.

DVTA carries out over 600,000 vehicle tests a year, about 80% of which are MOT tests on cars.

Its average waiting times target for 2003-04 is 21 days.

Over the last two years the Agency has replaced all of the vehicle testing equipment at its 15 test centres with new computerised testing equipment provided and maintained by the Romaha consortium under a 15-year PFI contract.

(MB)