Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions the Vehicle and Certification Agency has had with Volkswagen on the funding of the vehicle retesting programme.

On the 10 November the Secretary of State announced an Emissions Testing Programme to look for “defeat devices” and improve our understanding of the real world emissions performance of vehicles used in the UK. This investigation is vital in restoring public confidence. To ensure the independence of the testing, the Department is funding the programme and neither the cars nor the testing facilities will be provided by the vehicle industry themselves.

Ongoing testing of VW Group vehicles outside the Department for Transport Emissions Testing Programme and for which the Vehicle Certification Agency is the approval authority (Skoda), will be funded by the manufacturer on a case by case basis.