Annual MOT could be axed to ease cost of living crisis saving hard-pressed motorists £27
27 April 2022, 08:33 | Updated: 27 April 2022, 09:06
Annual MOTs could be scrapped under Government plans to ease the cost of living crisis, saving hard-pressed Brits just £27 a year.
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The annual checks would be replaced with tests every two years under cost of living plans suggested by Transport Secretary Grant Shapps.
Mr Shapps is understood to have raised the idea during Cabinet on Tuesday, as Boris Johnson seeks cost-free measures from ministers to alleviate the crisis.
He proposed increasing the length of MOT certificates, which are currently valid for 12 months.
If the policy becomes law it would halve the cost of MOT renewal, saving drivers £54.85 every two years for a standard car, and £29.65 for a regular motorcycle.
It means Brits - who face a £693 annual hike to their energy bills - would save around £27 a year for a car.
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"If we moved from an annual check to a check every two years, that is halving the cost of MOT renewal," a source who attended the Cabinet meeting told The Telegraph.
"That is a bread and butter policy that shows that the Conservatives are on your side."
The proposal is one of a number of cost-free measures that were put to the Prime Minister in a desperate bid to reduce the burden of the cost of living crisis on families.
A raft of ideas were discussed by ministers, including help with childcare, with Mr Johnson set to chair a domestic and economic strategy committee in the coming weeks.
Downing Street said the committee included the Prime Minister, the Chancellor and the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Steve Barclay.
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Cost-of-living crisis represents 'years of government failure'
Mr Johnson accepted Brits were facing "real pressures" but blamed external factors such as Russian president Vladimir Putin's "crazed malevolence" in Ukraine and lockdowns in China.
The Prime Minister's drive to find new ways of easing the cost of living comes as Brits endure soaring prices, driven by the post-Covid recovery and supply chain issues.
Among the most visible of these are huge prices at petrol stations, soaring energy bills and a shortage of cooking oil.
The Government has promised help for some bills but has been accused of not doing enough.
Downing Street suggested no new money would be provided in the coming months to ease the pain after Chancellor Rishi Sunak warned against rising public debt or inflation.
He told reporters: "Certainly, the budgets for departments are set and there are no plans to go outside what's been agreed."
