Dear Mr Hobson

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000

I refer to your request of 28^th August 2009 for information concerning VOSA commercial vehicle testing stations. I will respond to your points in the same order as your original request.

What is the utilisation of the each of the existing VOSA commercial vehicle test stations?

VOSA does not track testing station utilisation. However, the utilisation of testing lanes are tracked.

VOSA operates 170 test lanes at 87 locations. Within those 170 lanes the testing stations do about 120 lanes worth of testing a year which means the lanes are running at about 70% utilised.

Which of these stations are earmarked for sale and closure in the next 12 months?

VOSA have announced that 2 testing stations will close in the next 12 months. The testing station at Llandrindod Wells will close on 25 September 2009. The will be followed by the closure of the Steeton testing station by 31 March 2010. This has been preceded by 2 testing station closures at St. Austell and Bredbury (South Manchester) which were closed in 2009. There are no plans to close additional testing stations in the next 12 months.

Which test stations does VOSA plan to retain post 2012 to maintain a “safety net” in the event of privately-owned test facilities closing?

VOSA announced four station closures in the year to 31 March 2009. These station closures were as a result of overcapacity in the existing VOSA network. A decision has not yet been made about the size and location of the future VOSA estate. No decision will be made until further information is available on how the ATF market has developed.

How much did Tesco pay for the Llandrindod Wells test station site?

This information is considered to be exempt from release and VOSA is therefore applying the exemption in Section 43(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 which states “Information is exempt information if its disclosure under this Act would, or would be likely to, prejudice the commercial interests of any person (including the public authority holding it)”.

This exemption is subject to a public interest test, and this is attached to the covering e-mail.

What cost-benefit analysis did VOSA conduct to justify closing the Steeton and Llandrindod Wells test stations?

In closing Steeton, VOSA will save approximate total annual running costs of £61, 000. More significantly, if VOSA were to keep Steeton open, the Capital cost to modernise the station which is reaching the end of its working life would be approximately £2.4m.

Analysis of the closure impact at Steeton has indicated it will not affect VOSA meeting the 30/60/90 rule. The increased distance for the 2 way journey for the average Steeton customer is estimated as being around 22 miles (31 minutes).

The impact on local business was considered from the perspective of the additional travel time and distance vehicles would have to travel for a test. VOSA cannot continue to operate uneconomical sites. Testing volumes at Steeton have declined by 20% in the last five years.

The closure of Llandrindod Wells will cost the current customer base £75,000 per annum in travel costs to alternative testing sites (at £2.20 a mile).

The closure not only negates the need for costly (£100,000 +) capital works to update the facilities but the existing site does not offer a full range of testing facilities and would require significant investment even to maintain `As Is'.

If you have any queries about this letter, please contact us, quoting reference F0002111.

If you are unhappy with the response provided, you may ask for an internal review. To request an internal review, please write to:

VOSA Corporate Office,

Berkeley House,

Croydon Street,

Bristol,

BS5 0DA

or email [email address]

giving the reasons for your dissatisfaction. It will help us if you quote the reference number for your case.

If you do not agree with the outcome of the internal review, you may lodge an appeal with the Information Commissioner (www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk). The Information Commissioner is an independent official appointed by the Crown to oversee the Data Protection Act 1998, the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004.

The Information Commissioner can consider complaints about any aspect of the way in which requests for information have been handled. Please note: the Information Commissioner would be unlikely to consider your complaint if you have not first requested an internal review.

You can write to the Information Commissioner at:

The Information Commissioner's Office

Wycliffe House,

Water Lane,

Wilmslow,

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

Yours sincerely

VOSA Information Access

From: Information Access

[email address]

Information Access Team Berkeley House

Croydon Street

Bristol

BS5 0DA

Tel: 0300 123 9000

Fax: 0117 954 2546

Our Ref: F0002111

Date: 23^rd September 2009

Steve Hobson

[FOI #17436 email]

BY EMAIL