Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to reduce the incidents of illegal ghost vehicle registration plates being used by serious organised crime.

The Government is committed to tackling number plate crime. The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) works with police forces and the National Police Chiefs’ Council to strengthen its identification and enforcement.

As part of its Road Safety Strategy, the Department for Transport is reviewing motoring offences. It consulted on introducing penalty points and vehicle seizure for anyone in charge of a vehicle with an incorrect, altered or false number plate. The consultation closed on 11 May, and responses are being considered.

The DVLA is considering options for a more robust, auditable Register of Number Plate Suppliers, enabling tighter checks on suppliers and the plates they provide. These include changes to fees, scheme structure, resources and funding.

The DVLA has worked with the British Standards Institution on targeted amendments to the British Standard for number plates. These would prohibit raised or “ghost” characteristics and require finished plates to be flat, directly addressing the products of greatest concern. Work to bring the amendments into law is currently being undertaken.

The Department has also funded a new National Roads Policing Coordination Centre to help police forces share intelligence, collaborate and use data and technology to target illegal number plates.