PRESS RELEASE

23 April 2009

PAC/11/08/09

PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED IN MOT CENTRE PFI CONTRACT

Drivers using MOT Centres funded through a 2001 Private Finance Initiative (PFI) worth £57 million have been subject to excessive waiting times, particularly in the early years of the contract. That is the message from the Public Accounts Committee’s new report which examines the introduction of the PFI contract for the design, finance and build of 61 new test lanes at the 15 MOT centres.

Speaking at the launch of the report, Mr Paul Maskey MLA, Chairperson of the Committee, said,

“The Committee is pleased to note that the Agency has in recent years improved its performance and addressed initial problems, and there is now a high level of customer satisfaction. In addition, fees are lower than in England, Wales and the Republic of Ireland, and tests are now provided at more convenient times for customers.However, this has come at a cost.

“The Agency told us that it now recognises that 27 minutes, rather than the 18 minutes agreed at the outset of the contract, are required for the full vehicle test. This could result in additional expenditure of between £26.8 million and £39.8 million, leading inevitably to higher fees and impacting on vehicle test capacity, which is a particularly worry for busy centres such Belfast, which may reach maximum capacity in 2011.”

Other issues that the Committee believes need to be addressed in future include ensuring that new contracts are given proper and sufficient piloting and testing.

Paul Maskey continued, “More thought should have been given to the assignment of risk, especially in relation to equipment failures. It should have been obvious that, if the supplier was to be responsible for maintaining equipment while the Agency would be responsible for operating it, there would inevitably be disputes over any performance failures. The fact that this was not fully addressed pre-contract has led to ongoing dispute throughout the life of the contract. I trust that the public sector will learn lessons which should prevent its reoccurrence in future projects of this nature.

“The Agency has said it was about to commission a major performance review of the contract which would address the issues raised during their appearance before the Committee. However, we believe that too little had been done by the Agency to resolve its contractual difficulties and it had taken much too long to initiate this exercise.”

ENDS.

Notes to Editor:

1. Standing Orders under Section 60(3) of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 have provided for the establishment of the Public Accounts Committee (the Committee). The main statutory function of the Committee is to consider accounts and the reports by the Comptroller and Auditor General for Northern Ireland (C&AG) laid before the Northern Ireland Assembly.

2. The C&AG is head of the Northern Ireland Audit Office (NIAO) and is empowered to investigate any area of expenditure and has a statutory right of access to all files and papers in Departments and public bodies.

The PAC Committee members are:-

Alliance	Mr Trevor Lunn
Democratic Unionist Party	Mr Jim Shannon 6
	Mr Jonathan Craig
	Mr George Robinson 7
	Mr Jim Wells 3,4,5
Sinn Fein	Mr Paul Maskey (Chairperson) 2
	Mr Mitchel McLaughlin
Social Democratic and Labour Party	Mr John Dallat Mr Thomas Burns 1
Ulster Unionist Party	Mr Roy Beggs (Deputy Chairperson)
Progressive Unionist Party	Ms Dawn Purvis

1 With effect from 04 March 2008 Mr Thomas Burns replaced Mr Patsy McGlone.
2 With effect from 20 May 2008 Mr Paul Maskey replaced Mr John O'Dowd.
3 With effect from 1 October 2007 Mr Mickey Brady replaced Mr Willie Clarke.
4 With effect from 21 January 2008 Mr Ian McCrea replaced Mr Mickey Brady.
5 With effect from Tuesday 27 May 08 Mr Jim Wells replaced Mr Ian McCrea.
6 With effect from Monday 15 September 08 Mr Jim Shannon replaced Mr David Hilditch.
7 With effect from Monday 15 September 08 Mr George Robinson replaced Mr Simon Hamilton.

Media enquiries to:
Debra Savage,
Press Officer NI Assembly
Tel. 028 90521405 Mobile 07920 864221
Email: debra.savage@niassembly.gov.uk Website archive.niassembly.gov.uk