The government has allocated £24.3m of additional funding to VOSA in a three-year package to help the agency clampdown on unsafe foreign lorries. The investment will enable a 50% increase in the number of LGV checks carried out, as well as allowing VOSA to open two new enforcement sites.
A VOSA representative tells MT that possible locations for the new enforcement sites are currently being investigated and will be "up and running as a matter of priority". The money will also pay
for 97 additional enforcement staff and the introduction of 24/7 enforcement at VOSA sites over the three-year period. A move to 24/7 checking at two VOSA sites on the M6 and in north Wales will, however, commence very shortly.
Jack Semple, director of policy at the RHA, welcomes the announcement, saying the measures are all things the RHA has previously called for. "We are reassured that the introduction of the Graduated Fixed Penalty and Deposit Scheme, while embarrassingly slow, is now being given the urgent priority that is required," he says.
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