Asked by: Stewart Malcolm McDonald (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with (a) Vauxhall and (b) auto trade representatives on whether used Vauxhall Zafira B models, subject to recall by Vauxhall for safety reasons, are on sale.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is working with Vauxhall and other manufacturers and distributors to ensure that they meet their vehicle safety obligations as set out in the Code of Practice on Vehicle Safety Defects, the General Product Safety Regulations and associated legislation.
It is the responsibility of manufacturers and distributors, including Vauxhall, to ensure that all vehicles placed on the market are safe. This includes second-hand vehicles subject to a safety recall. The DVSA and I have discussed this issue with Vauxhall.
Asked by: Stewart Malcolm McDonald (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make it his Department's policy to ensure that consumers affected by the Volkswagen diesel emissions scandal receive a share of the £1 million compensation received by his Department from Volkswagen.
Answered by John Hayes
I meet regularly with Volkswagen UK to press them to improve their treatment of UK consumers; the most recent meeting was on 16th January. I am considering how the Government should best invest the £1.1m we secured from Volkswagen.
Asked by: Stewart Malcolm McDonald (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with representatives of Volkswagen to ensure that customers affected by the emissions scandal receive the compensation they are entitled to.
Answered by John Hayes
I meet regularly with Volkswagen UK to press them to improve their treatment of UK consumers; the most recent meeting was on 16th January. I am considering how the Government should best invest the £1.1m we secured from Volkswagen.
Asked by: Stewart Malcolm McDonald (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Written Statement of 12 December 2016, EU Transport Council, HCWS340, what recent progress his Department has made with his counterparts in other EU countries on reaching an agreement on (a) proposals for creating a regime for EU whole vehicle type approval and (b) further steps to ensure car manufacturers tackle emissions irregularities.
Answered by John Hayes
The UK is actively involved in negotiations to strengthen the EU type approval regime within the Council. We share the proposal’s overall objectives of raising the standards of all EU type approval authorities and ensuring that manufacturers face a level playing field in obtaining the approvals needed to place their vehicles on the market.
The UK strongly supports the introduction of Real Driving Emissions testing as part of type approval requirements. This is expected to significantly reduce real world emissions from new cars and vans, and make it almost impossible for manufacturers to manipulate emissions. The UK is pressing for final agreement of these requirements before Christmas this year.