Prosecution and Legal Services
- What does the Prosecution and Legal Services department do?
- Does VOSA PLS also work in Scotland?
- What offences does VOSA deal with?
- What type of penalties are enforced?
- Does PLS make the decision to prosecute?
- Contacting Us
What does the Prosecution and Legal Services department do?
Prosecution and legal services (PLS) is the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency’s (VOSA) own prosecution service that specifically deals with offences discovered by VOSA and relating in the main to HGV/PSV drivers and vehicles.
The main purpose of PLS is to successfully pursue action through the courts in England and Wales, where it has been deemed to be in the public interest to do so. This is usually done through Magistrates courts and usually in the jurisdiction of where the offence was found, but not always.
Our full range of activities include:
• Quality assure case papers provided by Vehicle Inspectorate examiners;
• Log/Track cases;
• Produce Court papers in England and Wales;
• Arrange Court dates in England and Wales;
• Issue and serve summonses on defendants in England and Wales;
• Arrange Court representation in England and Wales;
• Care and control of case including any adjournments;
• Account for and bank Court costs in England and Wales;
• Report statistics trends; and,
• Action appeals/statutory declarations.
Does VOSA PLS also work in Scotland?
In Scotland, VOSA still generates the offence related paperwork but the legal system is different. Most cases are taken to court by VOSA staff but in certain cases contracted solicitors specialising in this field of work are used. PLS currently uses a network of 26 contracted solicitors.
What offences does VOSA deal with?
All offences generated by VOSA enforcement schemes feed into the PLS offices. These are based in Cambridge, Bristol and Livingston in Scotland. About 26 staff in PLS handle something in the region of 9,000 cases per year, and in England and Wales, account for around £700,000 in court costs, fines go to the treasury.
What type of penalties are enforced?
The penalties for the type of cases prosecuted range from fines to imprisonment and endorsement of licences. Operator offences are reported to Traffic Commissioners at Traffic Area Offices and this can lead to relocation of operator licences.
Does PLS make the decision to prosecute?
The PLS offices differ from the CPS in that they do not make the decision to prosecute. The decision to prosecute is made by the senior traffic examiner and then passed to PLS to pursue.
Contacting Us
All information is listed on the site on the Contact Us page.
Page last updated: 03/05/2006