Concern over independence of agency testing diesel cars

THE work of the government agency in charge of testing diesel cars could be “compromised” because Treasury cuts are making it more reliant on funds from car makers, MPs will warn today.

Civil servants and ministers will be put under scrutiny for their response to the diesel engine scandal that has affected millions of drivers.

The furore was reignited late last week after “real world” tests commissioned by the Government found manufacturers were deliberately reducing emissions controls on their engines when it is cold to reduce damage to engines. Now it has emerged that the Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA), which carried out the tests, has agreed £420,000 of efficiency savings by increasing its “revenues for services provided” in its 2016-17 business plan.

MPs and campaigners said it was worrying that the agency, which has a budget of around £17 million, will rely increasingly on revenues from car makers under the plan.

Areeba Hamid, a Greenpeace spokesman, said the savings “will leave the car testing agency even more dependent on funding from the same industry it’s supposed to keep in check”.

Louise Ellman MP, the Labour chairman of the transport select committee, said that one of the issues the MPs were concerned about was “their dependency on funding from the industry – if that compromises their work”.

Paul Higgs, the interim chief executive of the VCA, is giving evidence to the committee today, along with Robert Goodwill, a transport minister.

Ms Ellman said that the committee would also be questioning why British diesel drivers were not being offered cash compensation like those in the US. German car giant Volkswagen announced last October that some 11 million vehicles worldwide were affected by so-called “defeat devices” – including almost 1.2 million in the UK.