To ask the Minister for Infrastructure what measures are being taken to deal with the MOT backlog.

For the latest information on MOTs I would ask you to encourage your constituents to visit NI Direct at Book, view, change or cancel an MOT/ vehicle test | nidirect. This information is also included as an advice note with every MOT Reminder Letter issued to DVA customers. The advice confirms if a customer gets to within five days of the expiry date of their vehicle tax and they have been unable to secure an MOT appointment, or their vehicle tax has expired, they should contact the DVA Customer Services team at dva.customerservices@infrastructure-ni.gov.uk, and they will do their best to get an urgent appointment for the vehicle. To date, all customers who have contacted the DVA in these circumstances have been offered an earlier appointment slot.

The Driver and Vehicle Agency (DVA) has steadily increased its vehicle testing capacity to pre-Covid levels by adopting a range of measures including the recruitment of additional vehicle examiners, the use of overtime to provide cover for leave and by offering vehicle test appointments on a Sunday and bank holidays, when testing is not normally available. The next tranche of new vehicle examiners are due to start their training later this month.

To further increase vehicle testing capacity across its network, the DVA is investing in new test centres. As a first step, the DVA is currently constructing a new test centre at Hydebank in Belfast, which is due to open in 2023. A second new test centre at Mallusk, which is scheduled to open in 2024, is currently at the planning stage. These two new centres will provide the capacity to test over 200,000 additional vehicles per annum, which will help meet the future demand for this service.

The DVA is monitoring the number of applications received and tests carried out and expects waiting times to reduce over time through the actions they have taken to increase vehicle testing capacity across the network.