Asked by: Derek Twigg (Labour - Widnes and Halewood)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what procedures the DVLA has put in place for the assessment of applications by private parking companies for access to the personal details of vehicle owners.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) provides information manually and via an electronic process. Before releasing vehicle keeper data through the manual process, the DVLA requires private parking companies to provide their full company registration details. These include the company’s registered address, Companies House registration number, Data Protection registration and Accredited Trade Association membership details. Companies must declare why they need the data and how it will be used. Documentation must also be supplied for each request demonstrating reasonable cause for needing the information. This can include landowner authorisation and evidence of the contravention of car parking terms and conditions. The information provided by the private parking company is thoroughly checked. Any request that fails to include sufficient information is rejected.
Private parking companies who wish to request information through electronic links must complete a six month probationary period. As well as supplying the details for the process outlined above, companies are required to make a minimum of 300 manual applications over the period. The DVLA will also liaise with the relevant Accredited Trade Association throughout the process to ensure that the company continues to adhere to the code of practice.
Private parking companies who successfully complete the probation period must enter into a contract before being able to request vehicle keeper data electronically.
Asked by: Derek Twigg (Labour - Widnes and Halewood)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what monitoring procedures the DVLA has put in place to ensure that private parking companies comply with the conditions of a contract for a Keeper of a Vehicle at the Date of an Event.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) takes the protection of the data it holds very seriously and has robust measures in place to ensure it is not misused.
To help ensure motorists are treated fairly, private parking companies that request vehicle keeper data are required to be members of an appropriate accredited trade association and TO adhere to its Code of Practice. The DVLA is notified promptly of compliance issues as required
The DVLA carries out its own comprehensive auditing, involving both remote and on-site audits in conjunction with the Government Internal Audit Agency. This is designed to ensure that the data requested is used only in accordance with strict contractual terms. Failure to comply can result in suspension of the parking company's ability to request vehicle keeper data
Following its most recent audit of the DVLA’s procedures for releasing data to private parking companies, the Information Commissioner’s Office found that there was a high level of assurance that processes were in place to MANAGE non-compliance with data protection requirements. The audit was published on 1 June 2016, and can be found at https://ico.org.uk/action-weve-taken/audits-advisory-visits-and-overview-reports/driver-and-vehicle-licensing-agency-dvla/
Asked by: Derek Twigg (Labour - Widnes and Halewood)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many and what proportion of private parking companies were fined by the DVLA for non-compliance with Keeper of a Vehicle at the Date of an Event contracts in each of the last three years.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) does not impose fines for non-compliance with contracts applying to Keeper at Date of Event enquiries.
Private parking companies that do not comply with contractual terms can have their facility to request vehicle keeper data suspended.
The table below shows the number and proportion of private parking companies suspended in each of the last three financial years:
Financial Year | Total number of private parking companies with a Keeper at Date of Event contract | Number of private parking companies suspended for non-compliance | Proportion of private parking companies suspended |
2014/15 | 87 | 10 | 11.5% |
2015/16 | 94 | 9 | 9.6% |
2016/17 | 109 | 4 | 3.7% |