Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the(a) current DVLA registration process for number plate suppliers, (b) background checks on number plate supplier applicants, (c) measures in place to prevent the acquisition of materials to print non-compliant plates and (d) number of DVLA enforcement officers.

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is working with the National Police Chiefs’ Council and others to improve the identification and enforcement of number plate crime, including the use of illegal plates.

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 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. It is an offence to sell a number plate without carrying out these required checks and can lead to a fine and removal from the Register of Number Plate Suppliers (RNPS).

Officials are considering options to ensure more robust application and audit processes which would enable tighter checks on number plate suppliers. On-road enforcement of number plate offences is a matter for the police.

Officials are also in discussions with the British Number Plate Manufacturers’ Association about the issue of non-compliant materials.

The DVLA’s enforcement officers work with the police and Trading Standards to carry out educational and compliance visits to registered suppliers. Enforcement officers attend the premises of registered number plate suppliers to check working practices and inspect number plates on the premises. Enforcement officers can inspect records held, take copies and/or seize the records.

In addition, DVLA officers carry out intelligence led enforcement activities to tackle a wide range of offences, actively working with our partners to investigate.