Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what data his Department holds on the number of local authorities that provide a service to remove abandoned cars.

Defra does not hold data on the number of local authorities that provide a service to remove abandoned vehicles.

The Refuse Disposal (Amenity) Act 1978 places a duty on councils to remove vehicles that are abandoned on any land in the open air, including private land, and council officers may legally enter land to investigate and remove abandoned vehicles.

Authorities do not have to remove an abandoned vehicle if the cost of moving it to the nearest highway is unreasonably high. It is for councils to determine whether any particular vehicle has been abandoned, and whether it is subject to their duty to remove it.

The Government has published guidance on councils’ responsibilities for removing abandoned vehicles, which is available at gov.uk.