Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will estimate the cost of including a check on the age of tyres as part of the annual MOT test of public service vehicles.

Expert advice suggests that tyre ageing is a complex issue where use and maintenance are significant factors rather than simply chronological age. As tyre condition can be affected by many different factors, the annual roadworthiness test for public service vehicles currently includes up to seventeen individual assessments to determine the appropriate application and state of each tyre fitted on a vehicle.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency estimates the inclusion of this additional item into the annual test for public service vehicles would cost approximately £200,000 on a full cost recovery basis. Departmental guidance on using older tyres has been effective, with high levels of compliance by PSV operators. But the Government is ready to take further steps as and where necessary.

Tyre age surveys, conducted by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency, have identified that it is not always possible to view the date code on tyres owing to the way in which dual tyres are fitted to the rear axles of many heavy vehicles.