Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, a) what assessment her Department has made of the £2.50 fee charged by the DVLA for the release of vehicle keeper data to private parking companies, b) what analysis has been conducted on the volume of keeper data requests made annually by private parking companies, and c) whether her Department has had discussions with the Information Commissioner’s Office regarding oversight of the use of DVLA vehicle keeper data by private parking enforcement firms.

Regulation 27 of the Road Vehicles (Registration and Licensing) Regulations 2002 permits the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) to release vehicle keeper details from its vehicle record where the requester can demonstrate reasonable cause to receive it. The fee payable by private sector organisations, including private parking companies, seeking the contact details of the registered keeper of a vehicle is £2.50. The fee is set to recover the cost of providing the information and ensures that the cost is borne by the requester, not passed on to the taxpayer. In line with Managing Public Money, the DVLA reviews its fees regularly to ensure that they are set to recover the costs of providing the service. Any changes would be subject to public consultation and Parliamentary approval.

The number of electronic requests for information for this purpose is published at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/who-dvla-shares-data-with. Vehicle keeper information is only made available to private parking operators who are members of an appropriate Accredited Trade Association (ATA). The ATAs are responsible for setting and enforcing codes of practice for their members. No analysis is undertaken in respect of the volume of requests made.

The Information Commissioner provided an opinion in 2022 confirming the release of DVLA data for private parking management is lawful and my Department maintains regular contact with the ICO on these matters.