End of the road for annual MoT?
Vehicle checks could be every two years under plans to ease cost of living crisis
DRIVERS will no longer have to put their cars through annual MOT tests under plans to ease the cost of living crisis.
Ministers are considering relaxing the rules so vehicles have to be checked only once every two years.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps put forward the proposal at a Cabinet meeting yesterday as ministers were told to find ways of saving people money.
An MOT test, which is an abbreviation of Ministry of Transport, costs about £55. But many reveal unknown flaws that can send the total bill soaring. At present, cars that are at least three years old have to have an MOT test every year. Without an MOT, motorists cannot legally drive or get their car insured.
In 2011 the Government looked at reducing the frequency of the checks to every two years, but dropped the plan a year later after safety campaigners warned that it would mean more deaths on the roads.
Whitehall opponents of the idea yesterday suggested the savings for drivers could be wiped out if their cars become more inefficient because faults had not been dealt with.
And Nicholas Lyes, the RAC’s head of roads policy, condemned the idea. ‘The purpose of an MOT is to ensure vehicles meet a basic level of safety for driving on our roads,’ he said. ‘Shifting it from annually to every two years would see a dramatic increase in the number of unroadworthy vehicles and could make our roads far less safe.’
Jack Cousens, head of roads policy at the AA, said: ‘Though well intended, moving the yearly £55 spend on an MOT to every two years could make costs worse for drivers with higher repair bills, make our roads more dangerous and put jobs in the garage industry at risk. AA polling shows overwhelming support from drivers who like the security that an annual health check provides.’
Last night the Department for Transport declined to comment on the plan.
Ministers clashed yesterday as they discussed how they can ease the cost of living crisis. Ahead of the Cabinet meeting, Boris Johnson had asked his ministers to come up with ‘innovative’ schemes to tackle soaring costs amid criticism that the Government has not done enough.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said he told ministers ‘there was more to do, including in areas such as childcare, to further ease pressures for those who need it most and to get even more people into high-skilled, highwage jobs’.
Proposals under consideration include reducing childcare costs by increasing the number of children each staff member at a nursery can look after, as well as encouraging parents to use their entitlement to some free childcare.
The supermarket ban on buy-one-get-one-free junk food offers could be delayed and tariffs could be cut on food that cannot be produced in the UK, such as rice.
But it is understood policing minister Kit Malthouse suggested to his colleagues that lowering taxes was the best way they could help voters.
Jacob Rees-Mogg, who is minister for government efficiency, agreed and argued that the net zero carbon emissions target should be overhauled.
Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng hit back, saying that the environmental drive could actually save people money.
Last night he defended the policy on Twitter, writing: ‘Nuclear and renewables are cheaper than burning gas...’
Mr Johnson will decide which proposals will get the go-ahead at a domestic and economic strategy committee meeting due to be held within the next fortnight.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said he wants to see ‘an emergency budget, not a Cabinet meeting’ to address the cost of living crisis.
‘Could make our roads less safe’