My honourable friend the Minister of State for Transport (Dr Stephen Ladyman) has made the following Ministerial Statement.
The Department for Transport has today issued a consultation document for the attention of stakeholders seeking views on the proposed review of the maximum level of MoT fee due for implementation later this year. The letter proposes an increase in the maximum level of fee for a car (MoT test Class IV) from £44.15 to £50.35 from October 2006. This represents an increase of £6.20. The Government do not intend to increase the maximum price again until April 2008 at the earliest.
The increase in the maximum fee level follows an analysis of how long garages actually spend performing the test, which shows it now takes nearly an hour, on average, to fully MoT a car. This includes a check of up to 26 systems and components, including safety critical ones such as tyres and brakes.
Prescribed MoT fee levels are a maximum—some garages do not charge the full fee. Some garages simply charge less than maximum, some offer free retests and some even make no charge for the test provided it is combined with a full service.
The increase in fees will go to the garages to cover the costs of their time, with a small amount—27p—going to the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency to cover the costs of running the system, which will in turn be passed to the service provider.
A copy of the letter is available in the House Libraries. The proposed new fee levels have already been subject to informal consultation with interested parties so there is a shortened consultation period, which expires on 1 September 2006.