Written Answers. - National Car Test.
Cecilia Keaveney
Question:
410
Cecilia Keaveney
asked the
Minister for Transport
if he plans to gain feedback from motorists in relation to their experience of the NCT; if so, the form this will take, in view of the value of feedback for the improvement of service delivery and for exorcising anomalies out of the system; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[22980/03]
Cecilia Keaveney
Question:
411
Cecilia Keaveney
asked the
Minister for Transport
his views on the public perception of the NCT; the response his Department is receiving from customers of the test; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[22981/03]
Bernard J. Durkan
Question:
442
Mr. Durkan
asked the
Minister for Transport
the discrepancies in the severity of NCT testing and consequent extraordinarily high or low pass rate; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[23423/03]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 410, 411 and 442 together.
Test integrity and good customer service are core requirements of the national car testing service and robust arrangements are in place to ensure this. In addition, there are specific pro cedures in place to measure on an ongoing basis the level of customer satisfaction with the service.
The contract for the operation of the national car test, NCT, requires National Car Testing Service Limited, NCTS, to meet a range of performance standards for the service which covers customer service, premises, test equipment, staff, test arrangements, facilities management and management of information technology. The performance standards are designed to ensure test integrity and consistency across the testing network together with a high level of customer service. The contract provides for penalties, including financial penalties, and for the termination of the contract in certain circumstances for failure to carry out the service in accordance with the performance standards.
My Department monitors all aspects of the operation of the NCTS to ensure that it delivers the car testing service to the required standards. To assist the Department in this function a supervision services contractor, a consortium involving the Automobile Association and PricewaterhouseCoopers with engineering, financial, legal, IT and operational expertise, has been engaged and is working to an agreed programme for the Department. This programme includes detailed monthly operational audits of the company's performance, quarterly controlled checks to ensure that consistent test results are obtained across the NCTS test centre network. Each month there is a review of the performance of a sample of vehicle inspectors as they carry out tests. Spot checks are carried out without any advance warning on a representative sample of cars that have just undergone the NCT. Detailed interviews are carried out with a representative sample of customers to assess customer satisfaction levels and there is a comprehensive annual review of the company's overall performance.
The test integrity measures are in place to ensure testing is carried out to the necessary standards across the network. As a consequence, customers can be confident that there are no variations in the standards of the test no matter where it is conducted on the network. Due to these safeguards, test outcomes represent the actual condition of vehicles presented for test. Results to date for 2003, show a pass rate of 52.7% for first tests and 90.2% on retest.
Since 2000 when car testing commenced the customer satisfaction rating for NCTS has at all times been above the contact standard and the satisfaction rating has improved year-on-year. The customer satisfaction rating was determined using proven and reliable scientific methods for such purposes and involved telephone interviews and structured interviews of representative samples of the customers. The high level of customer satisfaction is also borne out by the small number of complaints received by the company in relation to the service. Complaints arose regarding about 0.15% of the vehicles tested in an operation involving 536,071 full tests and 244,673 retests in 2002. A similar trend is emerging for complaints in 2003.
Internationally NCTS is seen as a first class professional service operating to the highest standards in all respects. This view was affirmed by the many complimentary remarks about the service by delegates from over 30 countries attending the international conference of CITA, an organisation drawn from government departments, vehicle testing authorities and organisations across the world, which was held in Belfast and Dublin last month.
Question No. 412 answered with Question No. 82.
