Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with (a) the European Commission and (b) his EU counterparts on insurance cover for (i) tractors, (ii) quad bikes, (iii) ride-on lawnmowers, (iv) motorised wheelchairs and (v) motorised golf caddies.

The Department’s consideration of motor insurance policy concerning vehicles such as these arises from the Vnuk judgement. This case, before the European Court of Justice concerned a man (Mr Vnuk) who was injured when he was knocked off a ladder by a trailer that was attached to a tractor in a barn in Slovenia. The effect of the judgment is that any vehicle that falls within the Motor Insurance Directive’s definition of a vehicle should have a compulsory motor insurance policy. The definition of vehicle in the Directives is very wide. We were disappointed with this judgment.

Officials are in regular dialogue with the European Commission and their EU counterparts about the challenges generated by the Vnuk judgment. This has included dedicated meetings with Commission officials, various exchanges with representatives of other Member States and attending a general meeting of Member States hosted by the Commission in May 2015.