asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answers by Lord Bassam of Brighton on 24 June (WA 243–44), whether the fall in prohibitions for United Kingdom drivers of vehicles with mechanical defects and the growth in numbers prohibited through excessive driving hours and overweight vehicles is due to improvements in the United Kingdom heavy transport industry or a decrease in the number of spot checks applied to United Kingdom vehicles. [HL4606]
In the Answer that was given on 24 June in the (Official Report, col. WA 243-44) the figures for the number of prohibitions for mechanical defects for 2007-08 for foreign heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) and all HGVs were provisional. Following further analysis the numbers have been revised and are now:
2007-08 Foreign HGVs Prohibitions UK HGVs Prohibitions All HGVs Prohibitions Percentage of foreign HGVs Prohibitions Mechanical all 14,919 20,954 35,870 46%
The UK HGV prohibitions for mechanical defects for 2006-07 were 20,016, compared to 20,951. Therefore, the revised figures do not suggest any significant fall in the number of prohibitions. It is not possible to infer from these figures the reasons for any minor variations between years.