Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of (a) the prevalence of illegally modified number plates and (b) the adequacy of current enforcement and detection mechanisms; and whether she plans to review the associated penalties.

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is working with the National Police Chiefs’ Council and other government departments to improve the identification and enforcement of number plate crime and to quantify the number of illegal plates that may be in circulation.

The law requires that anyone who supplies number plates for road use in the UK must be registered with the DVLA. It is a legal requirement for number plate 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. Selling a number plate without carrying out these checks carries a maximum penalty of a fine of £1,000 and the potential removal from the Register of Number Plate Suppliers (RNPS).

The safety of all road users is a top priority for the Government. As part of the development of our Road Safety Strategy, the Government is considering a range of policies relating to motoring offences, and we will set out next steps for the strategy in due course. Officials are also considering options to ensure a more robust, auditable RNPS process which would enable tighter checks on number plate suppliers. On-road enforcement for offences relating to the display of number plates is a matter for the police.