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The Passenger and Goods Vehicles (Recording Equipment) (Approval of Fitters and Workshops) (Fees) (Amendment) Regulations 2008

The Passenger and Goods Vehicles (Recording Equipment) (Approval of Fitters and Workshops) (Fees) (Amendment) Regulations 2008 (Memo)

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM TO THE PASSENGER AND GOODS VEHICLES (RECORDING EQUIPMENT) (APPROVAL OF FITTERS AND WORKSHOPS) (FEES) (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS 2008 NO.1581

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM TO

THE GOODS VEHICLES (PLATING AND TESTING) (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS 2008

2008 No. 1460

THE ROAD VEHICLES (REGISTRATION AND LICENSING) (AMENDMENT) (No. 2) REGULATIONS 2008

2008 No. 1444

THE INTERNATIONAL CARRIAGE OF DANGEROUS GOODS BY ROAD (FEES) (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS 2008

2008 No. 1578

THE INTERNATIONAL TRANSPORT OF GOODS UNDER COVER OF TIR CARNETS (FEES) (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS 2008

2008 No. 1580

THE PASSENGER AND GOODS VEHICLES (RECORDING EQUIPMENT) (APPROVAL OF FITTERS AND WORKSHOPS) (FEES) (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS 2008

2008 No. 1581

THE PUBLIC SERVICE VEHICLES (CONDITIONS OF FITNESS, EQUIPMENT, USE AND CERTIFICATION) (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS 2008

2008 No. 1458

THE PUBLIC SERVICE VEHICLES ACCESSIBILITY (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS 2008

2008 No. 1459

THE MOTOR VEHICLES (TESTS) (AMENDMENT) (No. 2) REGULATIONS 2008 2008 No. 1461

THE MOTOR VEHICLES (APPROVAL) (FEES) (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS 2008

2008 No. 1443

THE MOTOR CYCLES ETC. (SINGLE VEHICLE APPROVAL) (FEES) (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS 2008

2008 No. 1462

1. This explanatory memorandum has been prepared by Department for Transport and is laid before Parliament by Command of Her Majesty.

This memorandum contains information for the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments.

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2. Description

2.1 The ten sets of Regulations covered by this memorandum increase the fees for certain tests, inspections and approvals conducted by the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency ("VOSA") on behalf of the Secretary of State for Transport. The Regulations listed above respectively amend Regulations (a) - (j):

(a) The Goods Vehicles (Plating and Testing) Regulations 1988;

(b) The Road Vehicles (Registration and Licensing) Regulations 2002;

(c) The International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road (Fees) Regulations 1988;

(d) The International Transport of Goods under Cover of TIR Carnets (Fees) Regulations 1988;

(e) The Passenger and Goods Vehicles (Recording Equipment) (Approval of Fitters and Workshops) (Fees) Regulations 1986;

(f) The Public Service Vehicles (Conditions of Fitness, Equipment, Use and Certification) Regulations 1981;

(g) The Public Service Vehicles Accessibility Regulations 2000;

(h) The Motor Vehicles (Tests) Regulations 1981;

(i) The Motor Vehicles (Approval) (Fees) Regulations 2001;

(j) The Motor Cycles Etc. (Single Vehicle Approval) (Fees) Regulations 2003.

2.2 The Motor Vehicles (Approval) (Fees) Regulations 2001 are also amended to introduce an additional statutory fee for an application for Single Vehicle Approval in a particular set of circumstances. The fee reflects the work involved in processing such an application.

3. Matters of special interest to the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments

3.1 The Secretary of State, through her executive agency VOSA, recovers the cost of carrying out her functions in respect of testing and inspecting vehicles by charging fees. The agency operates as a trading fund.

3.2 The fees pay for the provision of examiners and enforcement officers, together with management, technical and administrative support services. They provide funds to pay for:

* the development and operation of the IT systems used to support VOSA staff and, increasingly, customer self service;

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* updating, equipping and maintaining VOSA's vehicle testing stations and offices used by staff; and

* servicing and repaying loans used to pay for capital expenditure funded by loans from DfT.

3.3 The VOSA trading fund is required to at least cover its costs, normally year on year. The aim is to ensure that the fee charged for a particular service is, and continues to be, commensurate to the cost to VOSA of conducting the particular service. Separate accounts are maintained within VOSA for the fees under each service area.

3.4 This year it is necessary for VOSA to introduce fee increases averaging 5% in most areas to cover predicted costs for the period from April 2008 to April 2009. The most recent revision of any of the fees now being revised was 1 April 2007. That increase took into account planned costs up to March 2008. (The fee increases should have been implemented from the start of the financial year, but their implementation was delayed until now.)

3.5 However, in the case of Single Vehicle Approval (SVA), it has proved necessary to raise fees by an average of 20%. This larger increase is necessary to ensure that the costs of SVA are fully met by the users of that service. Although this increase may seem large, it must be remembered that there had been no increase in SVA fees from the introduction of enhanced SVA in August 2001 until April 2007. With this increase, the annual rate of increase when compounded over the period from August 2001 amounts to an average of 3.66% per year. Test volumes on SVA pe...

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