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New VOSA initiatives still short of the mark

23rd September 2004
Page 24
Page 24, 23rd September 2004 — New VOSA initiatives still short of the mark
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

When outgoing VOSA chief executive Maurice Newey hands over the reins next month vvill he be happy with the changes he has implemented?

Chris Tindall reports.

If Maurice Newey harboured any desire to sail gently through his final year as chief executive of the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA), he has gone to great lengths to hide it.

Newey retires in October, but leaves behind him an organisation born out of the apparently successful merger between the Traffic Area Network and the Vehicle Inspectorate in April 2003.Notwithstanding the logistical and administrative nightmare that could have resulted from such a move, the incumbent chief executive handled some ambitious projects he hoped would be up and running before he picks up his carriage clock.steps down from his £120,000-ayear post and hands over the reins to the incoming Stephen Tetlow, And, according to VOSA's latest annual report, in some areas the agency has hit its targets. These include the introduction of Automatic Number Plate Recognition equipment and empowering VOSA staff to stop vehicles.

It also claims to have increased the prohibition rate for roadworthiness checks among foreign HG Vs (from 16.1% to 28.6%), despite the overall prohibition rate dropping slightly. VOSA puts this down to extending the prohibition powers to allow delayed prohibitions where previously only immediate prohibitions could be issued.

"This change has further levelled the playing field between British and foreign operators," the report says.

Fixed-penalty system

A consultation document is in the pipeline on a fixed-penalty system of on-the-spot fines for foreign drivers, but there is no mention of this in the report, despite being considered one of the areas in which VOSA is failing. The consultation followed a CM investigation which revealed foreign hauliers were escaping prosecution in the UK for driving offences, because it was too costly to bring them to court (CM 7 July).

However, there are some goals it did not achieve. Progress on a web-based operator selfservice system was delayed because of a "need to upgrade some of the IT infrastructure". A controlled rollout took place instead but, by the end of March, only 159 operators were registered. A "tightly controlled launch of a robust system" took place in April instead. Perhaps more infuriating to many hauliers was the failure to replace brake roller testing equipment. As CM reported back in July, the two firms contracted to provide a solution could not fulfil the specified requirements, which was doubly embarrassing for VOSA because it had already announced a 13% rise in test fees (CM 22 July).

The report tries to put a brave face on this situation by claiming the exercise "enabled us to further develop our ideas on the specific requirements for roller brake testing, and we plan to relaunch the project shortly with new terms of reference". But this will do little to assuage operators' ire at a perceived declining value for money, or to combat the call by many operators for the entire testing procedure to be privatised.

So Tetlow will inherit an agency promising much and delivering on most of its targets. But it has yet to convince many operators it is providing the industry with a level playing field or offering value for money on its services, despite protestations to the contrary.

We await with interest the new chief executive's first report in 12 months' time. r


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