Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government when they last reviewed the fees paid to Accident Vehicle Recovery Operators; when the next such review will take place; and what assessment they have made of the proportion of the fee that is received by the recovery operator rather than management companies.

The Home Office conducted a consultation from 17 May – 10 September 2021 to assess the current statutory fees and whether new levels of charges should be applied to the removal, storage and disposal of vehicles in England and Wales. These charges apply where the police, under various acts of road traffic legislation, have cause to remove or recover a vehicle illegally, dangerously or obstructively parked, broken down or abandoned. This also includes the removal of vehicles being driven anti-socially or without insurance or driving licence and if they are being used in unlawful trespass.

We have now reviewed the statutory fees and are finalising arrangements to publish the Government Response to this consultation shortly.

No assessment has been made of the proportion of the statutory charging fee that is received by the recovery operator rather than the management companies.

The operation of recovery schemes and contracts used by the police and National Highways for vehicle recovery operations are matters between the police and individual recovery operators. The Government’s role is limited to setting the statutory charges which the Police and National Highways can levy when they have exercised their recovery powers.