MoT waiting times 'were too long'

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/northern_ireland/8013637.stm

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Motorists in NI have been subjected to excessive waiting times at MoT centres, a spending watchdog has said.

The Public Accounts Committee said delays were especially bad in the early years of a Private Finance Initiative scheme, which began in 2001.

The contract was to design, finance and build 61 test lanes at 15 MoT centres.

Chairman Paul Maskey said the Driver and Vehicle Testing Agency had improved its performance in recent years and addressed initial problems.

Mr Maskey said fees were lower than in England, Wales and the Republic of Ireland, and tests were now being provided at more convenient times.

However, he warned that these improvements had "come at a cost".

'Worry'

"The agency told us that it now recognises that 27 minutes, rather than the 18 minutes agreed at the outset of the contract, are required for the full vehicle test," he said.

"This could result in additional expenditure of between £26.8m and £39.8m, leading inevitably to higher fees and impacting on vehicle test capacity, which is a particular worry for busy centres such as Belfast, which may reach maximum capacity in 2011."

Mr Maskey said when the contract was being drawn up, more thought should have been given to issues with the potential to cause disputes between the Driver and Vehicle Testing Agency and the private firms, such as responsibility for repairing equipment.

"I trust that the public sector will learn lessons which should prevent its reoccurrence in future projects of this nature," he said.

Mr Maskey added: "The agency has said it was about to commission a major performance review of the contract which would address the issues raised during their appearance before the committee.

"However, we believe that too little had been done by the agency to resolve its contractual difficulties and it had taken much too long to initiate this exercise."