Supplementary memorandum from the Department
for Transport
Question 31 (Mr Touhig) and Question 77 (Mr Mitchell):
which EU Member States do not exchange data with VOSA?
Of the 26 other Member States the following
regularly provide VOSA with details of GB HGVs found to be non-compliant
in their country:
Sweden and Luxemburg send information less frequently.
VOSA's records suggest that no other Member States have passed
data to the Agency over the last two years. This does not necessarily
imply an unwillingness to do so but may be for valid reasons,
for example GB hauliers are perceived to have a higher level of
compliance than local counterparts and so do not attract much
local enforcement attention.
Question 38 (Mr Touhig): what are we doing to
make Member States share data with us?
A new EU Regulation on Access to the Occupation
of Road Transport Operator (EC No 1071/2009) comes into force
in December next year and sets out new EU-wide rules on bus, lorry
and coach operator licensing. Among other things, it will require
each member state, by the end of 2012, to establish a national
database of their licensed operators. This data will include information
on serious convictions and penalties committed by operators and
transport managers—these can cover both road transport convictions
(eg drivers' hours or vehicle roadworthiness violations) as well
as non-road transport convictions (eg human or drug trafficking).
Each national register will also be accessible electronically
by licensing authorities in all other member states. The detailed
implementation of national registers is currently being determined
by a Commission working group (with oversight by the CATP Committee),
comprising all member states—including the UK.
A new EU Regulation on Access to the International
Road Haulage Market (EC No 1072/2009) and Access to International
Market for Coach and Bus Services (EC No 561/2006) requires a
formal mechanism for notifying serious infringements defined in
the Access to the Occupation Regulation, committed by foreign
operators licensed in other member states, to the licensing authority
in the "home" member state. When a notification is received,
that licensing authority will also be required to formally reply
to the notification, providing information to the notifying member
state about what action was taken by the licensing authority against
the operator. The Regulations require this mechanism to be established
by 4 December 2011 and the details are currently being determined
by the same Commission working group (with oversight by the CATP
Committee) that is considering implementation of national registers
under the "Access to the Occupation" Regulation.
Until the Regulations come into force, VOSA
has begun to collaborate with certain Member States on dealing
with HGV and PSV offences recorded in their respective countries.
For example, VOSA seconded an expert in HGV compliance and enforcement
to the Road Safety Authority in Ireland to advise on best practice
and to share enforcement data. This is improving the condition
of Irish trucks operating in Britain.
Question 69 (Mr Mitchell): how many GB-registered
lorries are checked compared to foreign-registered lorries?
During 2008-09 VOSA examiners made the following
checks (Figures taken from VOSA's published Effectiveness Report
2008-09:
| Number of GB checks
| Percentage subject to prohibition |
Number of non-GB checks | Percentage subject to prohibition
|
| Roadworthiness (vehicles and trailers)
| | | |
| 64,817 | 32.6% | 61,039
| 40.1% |
| Traffic (drivers hours, tachograph and overloading)
| | | |
| 53,219 | 17.2% | 46,335
| 21.4% |
| |
| |
The figures demonstrate that there is roughly a 50/50 split
of GB and non-GB checks.
Question 122 (Mr Williams): when did ports deny access to VOSA?
VOSA has for some time conducted roadworthiness and traffic
inspections on vehicles and drivers within port authority premises.
The scale of checking has been increased following the additional
funding provided in Budget 2008 for enforcement action targeted
at high-risk vehicles on international journeys.
As a result of the increase in VOSA activity at ports, three
port authorities have refused VOSA access to their premises for
vehicle inspections:
| Twelve Quays | Access denied in October 2008.
|
| Stranraer | Access denied in October 2009.
|
| Cairnryan | Access denied in October 2009.
|
| |
A fourth, the Port of Liverpool, changed its operational
regime in 2008 which in effect prevented VOSA from conducting
vehicle checks within the port complex. Following a number of
serious vehicle-related incidents within the port, and at the
instigation of the port police, VOSA has, since October 2009,
been conducting two low-key checks per week within the port complex
at Liverpool, assisted by the port police force.
In relation to Twelve Quays, VOSA is currently utilising
its Bromborough Goods Vehicle Testing Station for checks of HGVs
entering or leaving the port area and anticipates a new roadside
check site facility on the M53 will be operational during 2010.
In order to capture traffic going to and from Stranraer and Cairnryan,
VOSA currently conducts checks on the A75 corridor, at its Dumfries
GVTS and its Castle Kennedy site. The Agency is negotiating a
new site in the locality which will provide greater facility to
target non-compliant vehicles travelling to and from Stranraer
and Cairnryan.
Question 147 (Chairman): what are the costs for a French haulier
on GB roads and for a GB haulier on French roads?
The Haulage Industry Task Group announced in the Pre-Budget
Report 2005 was set up to build a better understanding of the
issues raised in the Burns Inquiry into fuel prices, freight taxes
and foreign competition. The Task Group, chaired jointly by HM
Treasury and Department for Transport Ministers and with representatives
attending from key trade associations and other industry stakeholder
groups, reported in December 2006.
The report stated that, as part of the Group's evidence gathering
on operating costs:
"The FTA and NERA economic consultants contacted overseas
haulage associations to collate data on the costs of operating
large goods vehicles in different countries. This work showed
costs within the UK are similar to those in Ireland, the Netherlands
and Germany. For other close neighbours such as France, Spain
and Italy, cost differentials are larger at around 10 to 15%.
Cost differentials reflect a number of factors, including
fuel tax differentials. However, the fuel tax differential is
partially offset by lower labour taxes and other employer costs
in the UK."
The costs which the Task Group took into account included:
— employer social contributions;
The full December 2006 Task Group report is available at
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/pbr06_haulage_230.pdf.
In addition to the operating costs set out in the Haulage
Industry Task Group Report, UK hauliers driving in France are
required to pay tolls on the whole of the French motorway network
whereas French hauliers in the UK are only subject to charging
on tolled roads and crossings which include Dartford crossing,
the Severn Bridge, the Humber Bridge, the M6 toll section and
also the congestion charge and low emission zone in London. French
hauliers are, of course, required to pay tolls on French motorways,
just as UK hauliers are, although it is more likely that French
hauliers will be in a better position to benefit from the volume
discounts available.
22 February 2010
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