Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the DVLA's processes to prevent stolen vehicles from being disguised or cloned by criminals.

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) has measures in place to help prevent criminal or fraudulent activity. If an application is made for a vehicle registration certificate (V5C) and the DVLA has not been told that the registered keeper has disposed of the vehicle, the DVLA will contact the registered keeper of the vehicle asking them to confirm if they have disposed of the vehicle before issuing a V5C to the applicant. Individuals must have access to the latest V5C issued to be able to use the DVLA’s online services.

The DVLA continues to work with the National Police Chiefs’ Council and other government departments to improve the identification and enforcement of number plate crime, including the use of cloned number plates.