Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of unlicensed drivers acquiring vehicles without mandatory (a) identity, (b) licence and (c) company checks during ownership transfers on risks to public safety.

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) takes the accuracy of its vehicle register seriously. It is crucial that registered keeper details are accurate for road safety and law enforcement purposes. The latest available data shows that more than 92 per cent of vehicle keepers are contactable and traceable from the information held on the DVLA’s records. Of the remainder, six per cent are in the motor trade which means that there will be no registered keeper details on the vehicle record.

The DVLA works closely with a range of key stakeholders on these important issues. The DVLA gathers information and intelligence regarding illegal and improper conduct and will follow up any notifications of fraudulent activity with the relevant authorities. The DVLA also sends the police ‘vehicle of interest’ reports so that the police can use automatic number plate recognition cameras to identify potential offenders. These reports include vehicles which have no registered keeper details, no insurance or no valid MOT.

Evidence of identity, which can be a passport, driving licence or utility bill, must be presented when a vehicle is being registered for the first time. However, to ensure that services remain both easy for customers to use and cost effective for taxpayers, there are no plans to introduce checks when a vehicle subsequently changes hands. It would be very difficult for ordinary members of the public to verify or authenticate the identity documents being provided to them when selling their vehicle privately.

It is already an offence to provide false or misleading information or to use a vehicle on the road without a valid driving licence. The police have existing powers to seize vehicles which are not complying with legal requirements.