4.4 In light of DVTA's findings, and in an attempt to establish the best time that could be achieved with the testing equipment and processes, the two parties established a Joint Working Group (JWG) in May 2002. As Appendix 5 indicates, despite an extensive and prolonged process of negotiations and collaborative effort, the JWG achieved little tangible progress in resolving the difficulties, with the potential for a 23-minute test having been identified by the time it had completed final time trials in October 2003. Furthermore, DVTA considered that a 23-minute test could only be sustained in a 26-minute booking slot, considerably longer than the 18 minutes required by the PFI contract, and an outcome that would not eliminate the need to provide considerable additional capacity. DVTA told us that, because these trials were conducted using a three-man lane with very limited equipment, the 26-minute test time could be considered a 'worst-case scenario', and that lower times were being achieved during live operations at some test centres.
4.5 In spite of the efforts of both parties, problems with achieving the required test times remained after the MOT2 equipment was fully installed in all test centres in September 2003. DVTA said that, despite these problems, the times being taken to conduct vehicle tests during this period were almost identical to those that had been achieved under the old system. However, the longer-than-anticipated test times, together with the substantial increase in demand for vehicle tests (see paragraph 2.4), and the phased closure of test centres during installation (see paragraph 2.3), led to a significant increase in customer waiting times for vehicle tests during 2002 and 2003. The situation was further exacerbated in 2004-05 by the Civil Service-wide campaign of industrial action (see paragraph 2.4).