Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the use of illegal car registration plates.

The law requires anyone who supplies number plates for road use in the UK to be registered with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA). It is a legal requirement for suppliers to carry out checks to ensure that number plates are only sold to those who can prove they are entitled to the registration number. Number plate suppliers must also keep records of the plates they have supplied.

The DVLA visits number plate suppliers to monitor compliance with the legal requirements. The DVLA also works closely with both the police and trading standards to share intelligence and to support investigations and prosecutions of suppliers who do not comply with the legal requirements.

Enforcement of the law relating to the display of number plates is a matter for the police. The police can issue a fixed penalty if a vehicle is displaying an illegal number plate. When notified by the police that an offence has been committed, the DVLA will write to the registered keeper of the vehicle concerned. This letter will notify the keeper that the registration number must be correctly displayed or it will be permanently withdrawn.