Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 4 April (HL14845), whether the Ministry of Defence adheres to the advice given in the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency Guide to maintaining roadworthiness: Commercial goods and passenger carrying vehicles, published in November 2018, providing that the advice does not conflict with operational requirements.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has a dis-application from the statutory legislation that requires vehicles to undergo an Annual Roadworthiness Test and periodic Safety Inspections. Where Defence has dis-applications, the Secretary of State for Defence's Policy Statement for Health, Safety and Environmental Protection requires the MOD to maintain Departmental arrangements that produce outcomes that are, so far as reasonably practicable, at least as good as those required by UK legislation. As such, the MOD does conduct Annual Roadworthiness Test and periodic Safety Inspections to the standard contained in the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency guide to maintaining roadworthiness for commercial goods and passenger carrying vehicles.