MPs to grill VI chief on emissions test standards
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• by Karen Nes The Vehicle Inspectorate's record on emissions testing is to face public scrutiny by watchdog MPs concerned at the number of dirty engines on the road.
VI chief executive Maurice Newey and Sir Richard Mottram, permanent secretary at the Department of Transport, will face the all-party House of Commons Public Accounts Committee in the autumn.
They will be questioned on the VI's roadside and annual testing emissions record as the result of a damning report published recently by the National Audit Office.
Both men will face scrutiny from the committee of 15 MPs on 17 November. The Conserv ative Party chairman, David Davis, is expected to lead the questioning on why the VI has allowed up to 20% of Britain's vehicles to run at illegal emission levels.
The NAO report criticised the VI for providing roadside testing that is "neither random nor fully targeted" and allowing 37% of diesel engines failing the annual test to pass a re-test without modification. The diesel test also came under fire. The report said 25% of tests are only visual and the results rely on how far the tester presses the accelerator pedal.
Newey will be expected to argue that the VI has already heeded some of the criticism, introducing changes such as meter-only testing for lorries.