My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Jim Fitzpatrick) has made the following Ministerial Statement.

I have today published an analysis of the costs and benefits of the MoT scheme in response to a Davidson review recommendation on the subject.

Our analysis suggests that a significant number of additional road traffic accidents would be likely if MoT test frequency was reduced. This is primarily because the annual MoT failure rate is already high (around 35 per cent) and, if we were to reduce test frequency, there is a very real risk that the number of unroadworthy cars would increase significantly. In turn, the number of road casualties would inevitably increase.

Clearly any significant increase in road traffic accidents or in the number of road casualties would be a wholly unacceptable outcome and, for that reason, our view is that the MoT test frequency should remain unchanged.

I have placed copies of the document in the House Library. Copies are also available in the Vote Office and Printed Paper Office.