Annual Vehicle Inspection Fee of Large Goods Vehicles: Fee Increase

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A decision made 18 May 2018:

Decision Reference: MD-TR-2018-0079
Decision Summary Title:	Department for Infrastructure Increase in the fee charged for the Annual Vehicle Inspection of commercial large goods vehicles		Date of Decision Summary:	17th May 2018
Decision Summary Author:	Head of Decision Support		Decision Summary: Public or Exempt?	Public
Type of Report: Oral or Written?	Written		Person Giving Oral Report:
Written Report Title:	Department for Infrastructure Increase in the fee charged for the Annual Vehicle Inspection of commercial large goods vehicles		Date of Written Report:	17th May 2018
Written Report Author:	Head of Decision Support		Written Report : Public or Exempt?	Public
Subject: Department for Infrastructure increase to the fee charged to commercial vehicle operators for the Annual Vehicle Inspection of large goods vehicles requiring a Certificate of Compliance (CoC).
Decision(s): The Minister approved the fee increase from £25 to £175 as detailed in the attached report, proposed by the Department for Infrastructure.
Reason(s) for Decision: Financial Direction 4.1 (paragraph 5.2) states that increases in States fees and charges should be limited to 2.5% per annum with compelling cases to be subject to the prior approval of the Minister for Treasury and Resources. The Annual Vehicle Inspection will be compulsory for all commercial vehicles over 7.5 tonnes, with those passing the inspection issued with a Certificate of Compliance, which will be valid for 12 months. This will later be extended, in 2019, to include vehicles that fall into the over 3.5 to 7.5 tonnes category. Currently the inspection required in order to issue a Certificate of Compliance is covered under Article 120 of the Motor Vehicles (Construction and Use) (Jersey) Order 1998 and the fee for such an examination has been set at £25 since 1998. The draft Motor Vehicles (Construction and Use) (amendment No 12) (Jersey) Order 201- will see the inspection fee for large goods vehicles increase to £175 which aligns it to that of the current P30 inspection fee for which the requirement for a CoC is applied. The aim is that the fees continue to apply the user pays principle and reflect, as far as possible, the present costs of providing services.
Resource Implications: The increase is forecast to result in additional revenue to DfI of approximately £103,950 based on the assumption that all of the large goods vehicles on the registration system are currently in use. The increase in the fee is expected to cover the costs of operating and administering the system only. The Annual Vehicle Inspection will be undertaken from existing Driver and Vehicle Standards resources and facilities.
Action required: The Head of Decision Support to inform the Finance Director - Department for Infrastructure once this decision has been approved.
Signature:		Position: Senator A J H Maclean, Minister for Treasury and Resources
Date Signed:		Date of Decision:

Annual Vehicle Inspection Fee of Large Goods Vehicles: Fee Increase

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Treasury and Resources

Ministerial Decision Report

Department for Infrastructure Increase in the fee charged for the Annual Vehicle Inspection of Commercial large goods vehicles

Purpose of Report

Department for Infrastructure increase to the fee charged to commercial vehicle operators for the Annual Vehicle Inspection of large goods vehicles requiring a Certificate of Compliance (CoC).

Background

The road haulage industry in Jersey has been aware of proposals for a Vehicle Operator Licensing Scheme for a number of years, since the States approved the Sustainable Transport Policy (STP) in 2010.

The Department for Infrastructure (DfI) plans to introduce a Vehicle Operator Licensing Scheme and has been engaging with the industry and exploring options for the formulation of the scheme.
In advance of the introduction of the full Licencing Scheme, the Minister for Infrastructure wishes to start by implementing annual roadworthiness inspections early in 2018.

The aim of Vehicle Operator Licencing is to set a basic standard of maintenance and inspections that should be expected for large commercial vehicles. Poor maintenance can lead to excess exhaust emissions as well as vehicles becoming unroadworthy, which is a risk to public safety.

The Minister for Infrastructure has requested the Law Draftsman to prepare the draft Motor Vehicles (Construction and Use) (amendment No 12) (Jersey) Order 2018. This Order amends the Motor Vehicles (Construction and Use) (Jersey) Order 1998 (the “Construction and Use Order”) to require annual examination of certain commercial goods vehicles and trailers, and the display of certificates of compliance.

The Annual Vehicle Inspection will be compulsory for all commercial vehicles over 7.5 tonnes, with those passing the inspection issued with a Certificate of Compliance, which will be valid for 12 months. This will later be extended, in 2019, to include vehicles that fall into the over 3.5 to 7.5 tonnes category. Examples of the large vehicles to be covered under the amendment to the Order would be all commercial vehicles over 7.5 tonnes that are inside of the legal size requirements such as Refuse Trucks, Flatbed Trucks, Sewage Tankers or 20ft trailers and these number around 594 individual units.

Currently all P30 permitted vehicles and trailers must be submitted to DVS for annual inspection. P30 permitted vehicles are vehicles that fall outside the current legal size limits to circulate on the Island roads and include both Commercial and Domestic vehicles such as 40ft artic trailers, trucks over 2.3m wide and motorhomes over 2.3m wide. Currently there are 529 vehicles operating commercially on permanent P30 licences.

The inspection of the large goods vehicles will take the same format as the current P30 inspection. It currently takes up to an hour of facility time and at least one Motor Traffic Officer to conduct the inspection. There is also an increased administrative workload on DVS in issuing the permit and therefore it is not planned that the increase in the fee charged will make any surplus, but cover the costs of operating and administering the system.

Currently the inspection required in order to issue a Certificate of Compliance is covered under Article 120 of the Motor Vehicles (Construction and Use) (Jersey) Order 1998 and the fee for such an examination is set at £25. The draft Motor Vehicles (Construction and Use) (amendment No 12) (Jersey) Order 201- will see the inspection fee for large goods vehicles increase to £175 which aligns it to that of the current P30 inspection fee for which the requirement for a CoC is applied.

The £25 inspection fee has remained the same since it was introduced in 1998 but the requirement for a CoC has not, up to now, been implemented, so the fee has never had to be paid and there has been no occasion to review it until now. The increase in the fee from £25 to £175 reflects the actual cost to DVS of carrying out the inspection. The fee for a re-examination is set at half the main fee, so it accordingly increases from £12.50 to £87.50.

Advice from the Law Officers Department has been sought by DfI and the opinion given is as follows:

“Under the existing Article 120 of the 1998 Order, the Minister may “require” any class of vehicle which he specifies to obtain a certificate of compliance and before the certificate is issued the vehicle in question has to be examined, for which a fee is payable. The amendment Order, effectively, means that the Minister, instead of using his existing power to require vehicles to have CoCs, under paragraph (1) of Article 120, has instead used his power to make an Order under the Road Traffic Law, to achieve a similar effect, that is, to specify which classes of vehicle will henceforth require a CoC. The Minister has retained the power to require other classes of vehicles to fulfil the same requirement; he has also, of course, put in place a number of other measures, such as requiring evidence of the CoC to be displayed on any vehicle which is required to have one. The Minister has in a way employed his power to require those types of vehicle specified in the amended Order to have a CoC, by virtue of the amending Order, but the Minister may still use the present power to require a CoC in respect of any other classes of vehicle. This way of looking at it makes it clear that, in making the amending Order, the Minister will be applying the existing fee, for the first time, to the types or classes of vehicle specified in the new Article 120A of the Order. It is therefore the same charge as is potentially payable under the existing provisions, not a new charge.”

The Department for Infrastructure is in the final stages of amending the Motor Vehicles (Construction and Use) (amendment No 12)(Jersey) Order 201-. The Order is planned to take effect as of the 14th May 2018, and allows operators a calendar year to ensure their vehicles are inspected and therefore compliant.

3. Recommendation

The Minister is recommended to approve the fee increase from £25 to £175 as proposed by the Department for Infrastructure for the Annual Vehicle Inspection of large goods vehicles.

4. Reason for Decision

Financial Direction 4.1 (paragraph 5.2) states that increases in States fees and charges should be limited to 2.5% per annum with compelling cases to be subject to the prior approval of the Minister for Treasury and Resources.

Currently the inspection required in order to issue a Certificate of Compliance is covered under Article 120 of the Motor Vehicles (Construction and Use) (Jersey) Order 1998 and the fee for such an examination has been set at £25 since 1998. The draft Motor Vehicles (Construction and Use) (amendment No 12) (Jersey) Order 201- will see the inspection fee for large goods vehicles increase to £175 which aligns it to that of the current P30 inspection fee for which the requirement for a CoC is applied.

The aim is that the fees continue to apply the user pays principle and reflect, as far as possible, the present costs of providing services.

5. Resource Implications

The increase is forecast to result in additional revenue to DfI of approximately £103,950 based on the assumption that all of the large goods vehicles on the registration system are currently in use. The increase in the fee is expected to cover the costs of operating and administering the system only. The Annual Vehicle Inspection will be undertaken from existing Driver and Vehicle Standards resources and facilities.

Report author : Head of Decision Support	Document date 17th May 2018
Quality Assurance / Review : Director of Financial Planning and Performance	File name and path: L:\Treasury\Sections\Corporate Finance\Ministerial Decisions\DS, WR and SD\2018-0079 - DfI Increase in charge for Annual Vehicle Inspections
MD Sponsor: Treasurer of the States