VI confusion
Page 59
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Re your article "No sell off, no trade off?" (CM 24-30 March) and my article in "Sound Off" in July 1993. 1 used to be national deputy co-ordinator of enforcement at the Department of Transport central and later became an enforcement manager with the Vehicle Inspectorate.
Looking back at my article, some of my concerns about the future of enforcement by the Traffic Examiner grade seem to have been well founded.I share the concern expressed in your article and the educated guess of a 30% saving following the "no sell-off" announcement by the Secretary of State.
John MacGregor is, according to sources, making staff a little apprehensive about their future.
I agree that such a massive "saving" is unlikely to come just from the testing arm of
VI and enforcement will suffer. The knock-on effect will probably be the soft options of easy targets with the expensive investigations into illegal operations and drivers hours being restricted. Targeting is already in some cases disproportionate with the good operator being hit. This helps keep target figures up and the unit costs down.
It is relatively easy to apply accurate measurement to testing and mechanical inspection: the VI is very good at this and has an enviable record. Indeed this is their particular field of expertise, but the same rules should not set the scene for enforcement which requires a broader approach linked to a flexible budget.
Not surprisingly, examiners tell of their despondency and look back to a previous system which allowed them to make a more positive contribution to practical enforcement. The redrawing of the geographical boundaries has, according to some sources, confused the staff and increased the expense of travel and subsistence with some reduction in effective working time. TE staffing levels have fallen over the past three years, probably by as much as 20%.
Possibly the VI should follow John Major's campaign and get back to basics while there still remains some enforcement staff who understand what the basics are.
John Allen Kent.
Shell fuel cards
Re your guide to fuel cards (CM 17-24 Feb) both the Shell Agency Card and the euroShell Prime Card do in fact offer customers management information. In the case of Shell Agency this information is also available
on disk: euroShell can be used for the purchase of fuel and other services in the UK and across mainland Europe. The euroShell Prime Card, available only to high-volume users, may be used as a standard euroShell Card in all respects, but also facilitates the purchase of fuel at preferential rates in the UK only.
Shell Agency is for the purchase of fuel and oil only at 3,700 Shell and BP service stations nationwide and cannot be used to pay for other services.
Darran Messem Marketing manager, Shell UK, Manchester