Asked by: Sarah Wollaston (Liberal Democrat - Totnes)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment the Government has made of the increase in use of electric scooters on roads.
Answered by Andrew Jones
In the UK, powered transporters, also known as micromobility devices, are treated like any other motor vehicle under the Road Traffic Act. This includes e-scooters, and means they are subject to laws requiring them to be built and used safely, including requirements for users to have insurance, driving licences, number plates, and helmets.
It is therefore, illegal to use a powered transporter on a public road without it complying with these legal requirements. At present, it will be difficult for electric scooters to meet these requirements. It is also illegal to use a powered transporter in spaces which are set aside for use by pedestrians, cyclists, and horse-riders. This includes on the pavement and in cycle lanes.
We are currently exploring how new technologies, such as e-scooters, could help the UK benefit from changes in how people, goods and services move around and possible barriers to securing those benefits.
The Future of Mobility Urban Strategy, published on 19 March 2019 includes a Regulatory Review to address the challenges of ensuring our transport infrastructure and regulation are fit for the future.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to regulate UK-registered vehicles that display an EU flag on their number plates after the UK has left the EU; whether he plans to fine the owners of those vehicles; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Number plates displaying an EU flag can continue to be legally displayed on vehicles before and after the UK leaves the EU. Consequently, owners of vehicles displaying these number plates in the UK will not be fined.
Asked by: Alex Chalk (Conservative - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps the Government is taking to encourage traffic enforcement teams to check with the DVLA vehicle enquiry service before issuing penalty notices in order to avoid problems caused by potential vehicle license plate cloning.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The purpose of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency’s (DVLA) Vehicle Enquiry Service is to provide some details about the vehicle being checked, for example its licensing status.
The DVLA already has existing secure data sharing arrangements in place which are used by the police and local authorities for enforcement purposes.
If the registered keeper of a vehicle suspects that their number plate has been cloned, they should contact the police and the authority that issued any disputed penalty notice for investigations to be carried out. The DVLA is also able to issue a new registration number where appropriate.
Asked by: Alex Chalk (Conservative - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps the Government is taking to encourage traffic enforcement teams to check with the DVLA vehicle enquiry service before issuing penalty notices in order to avoid problems caused by potential vehicle license plate cloning.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The purpose of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency’s (DVLA) Vehicle Enquiry Service is to provide some details about the vehicle being checked, for example its licensing status.
The DVLA already has existing secure data sharing arrangements in place which are used by the police and local authorities for enforcement purposes.
If the registered keeper of a vehicle suspects that their number plate has been cloned, they should contact the police and the authority that issued any disputed penalty notice for investigations to be carried out. The DVLA is also able to issue a new registration number where appropriate.
Asked by: Alex Chalk (Conservative - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has made an assessment of the effect of the move away from paper tax discs on levels of registration plate cloning fraud.
Answered by Jesse Norman
There is no evidence to suggest that there is a link between the removal of paper tax discs and levels of registration plate cloning.
There are robust measures in place to protect the integrity of the number plate system which have never relied on the availability of paper tax discs. Since 2003, number plate suppliers in England and Wales have been required to register with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency’s (DVLA) Register of Number Plate Suppliers. This requirement was extended to Scotland and Northern Ireland in 2008.
This regime was introduced to protect the integrity of number plates by ensuring that suppliers check a customer’s identity to ensure their entitlement to the registration number before selling them a replacement number plate. A team of DVLA enforcement officers conduct regular compliance visits to suppliers and work closely with the police and trading standards officials to share intelligence and support investigations and prosecutions.
DVLA will investigate where customers believe that their vehicle registration number is being used fraudulently.
Asked by: Laura Pidcock (Labour - North West Durham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prosecutions have been brought for the use of illegal car registration plates in each year since 2010.
Answered by Rory Stewart
The Department for Transport are responsible for the policy and legislation governing vehicle registration numbers, which must be displayed in accordance with the legal requirements contained in the Road Vehicles (Display of Registration Marks) Regulations 2001.
Data on offences committed under the Road Vehicles (Display of Registration Marks) Regulations 2001 are not reported centrally to the Ministry of Justice. Such information may be held by the individual courts in England and Wales but could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Laura Pidcock (Labour - North West Durham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the use of illegal car registration plates.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The law requires anyone who supplies number plates for road use in the UK to be registered with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (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.
The DVLA visits number plate suppliers to monitor compliance with the legal requirements. The DVLA also works closely with both the police and trading standards to share intelligence and to support investigations and prosecutions of suppliers who do not comply with the legal requirements.
Enforcement of the law relating to the display of number plates is a matter for the police. The police can issue a fixed penalty if a vehicle is displaying an illegal number plate. When notified by the police that an offence has been committed, the DVLA will write to the registered keeper of the vehicle concerned. This letter will notify the keeper that the registration number must be correctly displayed or it will be permanently withdrawn.
Asked by: Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many trade licence plates have been approved by the DVLA; and how many are currently in use.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
The trade licensing scheme allows motor traders to use vehicles that are temporarily in their possession without the need to register and license each vehicle. A trade plate must be displayed on the vehicle, and each trade plate must be supported by a valid trade licence.
Between January and November 2017, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency approved 11,051 new applications for trade licences and trade plates. During the same period, 54,483 trade licences were renewed for use with existing trade plates.
Asked by: Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much income they received from the sale of private number plates in each year since 2010.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
The table below shows the income, exclusive of VAT, which the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency has passed to HM Treasury as Consolidated Fund Extra Receipts from the sale of private registration numbers since April 2010:
Financial Year | Net Income Passed to HM Treasury from Sale of Personalised Registrations |
2010/11 | 70,405,000 |
2011/12 | 58,209,000 |
2012/13 | 57,084,000 |
2013/14 | 64,322,000 |
2014/15 | 79,591,000 |
2015/16 | 96,657,000 |
2016/17 | 110,059,000 |
Asked by: Rehman Chishti (Conservative - Gillingham and Rainham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many incidents of number plate fraud have been recorded in England and Wales each year since 2010.
Answered by Nick Hurd
The Home Office does not hold the information requested. The Home Office collects recorded fraud data from the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau including fraud classified as NFIB90 which is ‘Other fraud (not covered elsewhere)’. Number plate frauds will be recorded in this category, but we cannot separate out these offences from the data we hold.
The ONS publish recorded fraud data in the quarterly ‘Crime in England and Wales’ bulletin, which can be found in Table A5 of the Appendix Tables: