Asked by: Sarah Coombes (Labour - West Bromwich)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many and what proportion of people who were waiting to be tried in court for motoring offences had their driving licence revoked while waiting for court proceedings to begin in the latest period for which data is available.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport does not hold this information.
The Government treats road safety seriously and is committed to reducing the numbers of those killed and injured on our roads. The Road Safety Strategy is under development and will include a broad range of policies. More details will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Sarah Coombes (Labour - West Bromwich)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions she has had with the DVLA on reducing the number of vehicles with no registered keeper on the roads.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
There are long-standing and robust measures, including legislative requirements, in place to ensure that keepers notify the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) when they buy and sell a vehicle. It is already an offence to use a vehicle that does not have a registered keeper.
The DVLA is working to reduce the number of vehicles on UK roads that have no registered keeper or are unlicensed. The DVLA works with more than 80 local authorities and police forces to identify and act on vehicles which do not have a registered keeper. It also deploys Automatic Number Plate Recognition vehicles to detect unlicensed or unregistered vehicles.
Based on the latest available data, more than 93 per cent of vehicle keepers are contactable and traceable from the information held on the DVLA’s vehicle record. Of the remainder, around 6% are in the motor trade, where a vehicle may legitimately have no registered keeper.
Asked by: Sarah Coombes (Labour - West Bromwich)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate she has made of the number and proportion of vehicles that have no registered keeper.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
There are long-standing and robust measures, including legislative requirements, in place to ensure that keepers notify the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) when they buy and sell a vehicle. It is already an offence to use a vehicle that does not have a registered keeper.
The DVLA is working to reduce the number of vehicles on UK roads that have no registered keeper or are unlicensed. The DVLA works with more than 80 local authorities and police forces to identify and act on vehicles which do not have a registered keeper. It also deploys Automatic Number Plate Recognition vehicles to detect unlicensed or unregistered vehicles.
Based on the latest available data, more than 93 per cent of vehicle keepers are contactable and traceable from the information held on the DVLA’s vehicle record. Of the remainder, around 6% are in the motor trade, where a vehicle may legitimately have no registered keeper.
Asked by: Sarah Coombes (Labour - West Bromwich)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many drivers with three or more driving-related convictions retained their driving licence in each of the last five years.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
A scan of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA)’s driving licence database is required to provide the information requested. DVLA officials will write to the Honourable Member with this information when it is available.
Asked by: Sarah Coombes (Labour - West Bromwich)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has made an assessment of the correlation between drivers (a) who fail to produce (i) a driving licence, (ii) an MOT certificate and (iii) insurance certificate and (b) convicted of (A) dangerous driving, (B) driving under the influence and (C) causing serious (1) injury and (2) death by (a) careless and (b) dangerous driving.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
My department has not made a specific assessment of this type. Nonetheless the Government is committed to improving road safety, with a new Road Safety Strategy under development which will include a broad range of policies. More details will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Sarah Coombes (Labour - West Bromwich)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an estimate of the number and proportion of (a) taxi and (b) private hire vehicles that use number plates that do not conform with regulations.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency is working with the National Police Chiefs’ Council, various police forces and Trading Standards in relation to the supply and use of illegal number plates as well as number plates with raised characters, commonly known as ‘4D plates’. Some 4D plates can also be described as ‘ghost’ plates where the characters are constructed from materials that are unable to be read by infrared Automatic Number Plate Recognition systems. Work is currently ongoing to quantify the number of illegal plates that may be in circulation, which would include on taxis and private hire vehicles.
Asked by: Sarah Coombes (Labour - West Bromwich)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what her planned timeframe is for publishing a road safety strategy.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
This Government treats road safety with the utmost seriousness, and we are committed to reducing the numbers of those killed and injured on our roads. My Department is developing the first road safety strategy in over a decade, and will set out more details in due course.
Asked by: Sarah Coombes (Labour - West Bromwich)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of updating the guidance entitled Taxi and private hire vehicle licensing best practice guidance for licensing authorities in England, published on 17 November 2023, to include guidance on compliance with registration plate regulations.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
It is an offence for any vehicle to display a vehicle registration number plate that does not comply with the relevant regulations. Work is ongoing to quantify the number of illegal plates that may be in circulation on our roads, which will include taxis and private hire vehicles. The evidence gathered will be considered when evaluating potential future action, such as amending the best practice guidance, that may be taken to address this issue.
Asked by: Sarah Coombes (Labour - West Bromwich)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of regulations governing the use of ghost number plates..
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is working with the National Police Chiefs Council, various police forces and Trading Standards in relation to the supply and use of modified number plates, including those commonly known as ‘ghost plates’. The police are responsible for on road enforcement of existing number plate offences.
It is already an offence to display a vehicle registration number that does not comply with the relevant regulations. Work is ongoing to quantify the number of illegal plates that may be in circulation. The evidence gathered will be considered when evaluating potential future action that may be taken to address this issue.
Asked by: Sarah Coombes (Labour - West Bromwich)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will take steps to tackle the use of ghost number plates on public highways.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is working with the National Police Chiefs Council, various police forces and Trading Standards in relation to the supply and use of modified number plates, including those commonly known as ‘ghost plates’. The police are responsible for on road enforcement of existing number plate offences.
It is already an offence to display a vehicle registration number that does not comply with the relevant regulations. Work is ongoing to quantify the number of illegal plates that may be in circulation. The evidence gathered will be considered when evaluating potential future action that may be taken to address this issue.