Angus MP Mike Weir continued the fight against the closure of driving test centres in Arbroath and Forfar by raising the issue at Westminster.
Scotland Office ministers were urged to intervene with the Department of Transport to delay the closing down of the two bases until there has been “proper public consultation.”
Mr Weir vowed to continue to press the matter on behalf of the area’s driving instructors, who stand to lose a significant amount of business if the move goes ahead.
He said, “It is utterly unacceptable that the Driving Standards Agency can simply close important local facilities without any consultation whatsoever.
“This is no way for any reasonable government agency to operate.”
“In the case of Arbroath and Forfar neither the instructors, students or the general public were given any opportunity to comment on the plans to remove services from Angus and concentrate them in Dundee.”
Instructors were only informed their local centres would be shutting at the start of the month when the DSA sent out letters detailing plans for a new test venue in Dundee.
The body claims it is no longer economically viable to run the branches, which are seen as outposts of the main Dundee headquarters.
None of the driving school owners were consulted prior to being notified of the changes, which will come into effect in March.
Mr Weir said, “When I raised the matter last week the Transport Minister apologised for what happened, but he has refused to postpone closure whilst it is reviewed.
“This is not sufficient. If the centres close it is fairly certain that even if the policy is reviewed they will not be reopened.”
Photo used under Creative Commons licence courtesy of Flickr user tgraham.