MOT

The Government is planning to scrap the annual MoT test for cars after a Treasury review of EU red tape suggested that it was unnecessarily burdensome. The study found that Britain’s 22 million motorists would save £465 million a year if they had the MoT test less frequently, and that there would be no obvious decrease in road safety. Treasury officials said that they would consult police and road safety groups before going ahead with the reform and that it would take about a year to come into effect.

The MoT change is one of ten bureaucracy-cutting measures recommended by the review into the impact of EU legislation. The review, conducted by Lord Davidson of Glen Cova, QC, found that the Government often “gold- plated” EU rules, making them far more stringent than necessary. The study found that the gold-plated regulations, which range from banking controls to animal testing and consumer protection, cost British businesses and consumers £670 million a year.

The MoT test system, which was established in 1968, is the second toughest in the EU, with only Latvia having tighter controls. Drivers must get an MoT test when a car is three years old, and every year thereafter. However, EU law requires only a test every other year after a car is 4 years old. In France, Germany, Spain and Italy motorists only have to get tests every second year.

Changing the starting point for MoT tests to when a car is four years old, rather than three, would save drivers £80 million a year in fees, as well as the time taken to drive to and from the garage. The Davidson review suggested that there was little evidence that making the tests biennial would make the roads more dangerous, but that the Government should study the issue more closely.

The review also suggested reducing controls on animal testing to make it less difficult to get a licence to conduct experiments. It said that there were unnecessary regulatory burdens, such as on scientists working temporarily in Britain, which could be scrapped without an impact on animal-welfare standards. It said that town halls should not insist that food workers attend training courses, since EU regulations required only that they be supervised or instructed.

Consumer protection laws should also be streamlined, since there was an overlap between EU and domestic legislation that led to public confusion and unnecessary litigation. The review said that simplified procedures for complaining about faulty goods should be introduced by 2009. Other areas identified for deregulation included insurance, financial controls on banks, fishing policy, rules on waste and road haulage licensing. (Source: Times Online, Nov/06)