VI denies any cash problem by Rob Willock • The
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Vehicle Inspectorate is struggling to pay its bills and is fighting threats of disconnection from its utilities suppliers, an insider claimed to Commercial Motor last week.
A VI spokeswoman denies the agency is in money trouble, but admits it is facing higher-thanusual bills at the moment owing to the roll-out of the Joint Enforcement Data Initiative (JEDI) system. "But they will be paid," she insists. "If there have been any problems they have been minor."
However, the insider claims the problem is more serious, with debts running at £2m. "The utilities are threatening to cut us off and other supplies are drying up," he says. "I've heard that some phone lines have actually been disconnected.
"I don't know if it will mean redundancies," he adds, "but it may well affect enforcement, since we're expecting cut-backs in travel and subsistence allowance, plus a cessation of overtime."
The source says the revelation came from a management meeting in Bristol last Tuesday (2 June). "They're trying to keep it quiet," he claims, "but I don't think they should."
But the VI spokeswoman rejected the allegations. "We'll never be in the red," she says, "because we're backed by the Government. Each month we're allowed a bank credit of E5m. Of that, staff costs are £3m and we have ,C2m to play with—it's just a matter of housekeeping." The VI is hosting 12 traffic examiners from France and Belgium on an "enforcement harmonisation exchange". The visitors are manning a weighbridge at Tormarton, Avon.