Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to make provision for there being a short grace period exempting a driver from the requirement to hold vehicle tax for a particular vehicle in the event of the death of the registered keeper of that vehicle to enable family members or close friends of that former registered keeper to be able to drive that vehicle, providing they are insured to drive that vehicle.

All vehicle excise duty automatically ends when a vehicle is sold to a new keeper, transferred to the motor trade or when the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is notified that the registered keeper has passed away.

The DVLA recognises that this is a distressing time for family members and has a specialist team in place to deal with these cases sensitively. When the DVLA receives a notification of a bereavement this specialist team will write to the family to confirm what actions need to be taken.

The law does not provide for any grace period or for vehicle excise duty to be transferred to a new keeper.