The Government's planned retesting of vehicles following the Volkswagen Group emissions cheating scandal will cost the UK taxpayer £650,000 as a way of 'retaining independence', it has been confirmed.

When quizzed about the upcoming Emissions Testing Programme (ETP), roads minister Andrew Jones said the amount had been set aside as an initial budget and that the Government would not be seeking funding from car manufacturers.

The investigation, dubbed 'vital in restoring public confidence' by Jones, will actively look for defeat devices - like those used by VW - in a range of models from various carmakers.

Paying the price for emissions cheating: The UK Government won't be seeking manufacturer funding to pay for upcoming vehicle retests following Volkswagen's scandal

The Department for Transport confirmed the ETP in November, which will see both VW a non-VW cars retested under emissions regulations to gather a greater understanding on the enormity of the pollution issue.

Earlier this month, Mr Jones had responded to a query about funding for the ETP, saying: 'This investigation is vital in restoring public confidence.

'To ensure the independence of the testing, the Department is funding the programme and neither the cars nor the testing facilities will be provided by the vehicle industry themselves.'

Roads Minister Andrew Jones confirmed £650k has been budgeted for the vehicle retesting programme

The costs to retest Skoda models, which were originally approved in the UK by the Vehicle Certification Agency testing authority, will be be covered by the car manufacturer on a case-by-case basis and not conducting by the VCA again.

Seat models affected in the emissions scandal were also signed off by the UK testing body.

The roads minister responded to questions about footing the bill for the remaining models in the retesting programme in the written House of Commons answers.

'There is an initial budget of £650,000 for the Emissions Testing Programme,' Jones said.

'To retain independence we are not seeking contributions from manufacturers.

'VCA will charge between £8,000 and £10,000 per vehicle. The emissions test facilities will be charged separately.'

The re-test procedure will not only follow the same test cycle rules currently in use as part of EU type approval testing but will also incorporate real world driving emissions measurements to gauge an understanding of the increase in pollution levels compared to the low-speed laboratory test.