§ 2. Mr. CarringtonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information he has on efforts made by motor manufacturers in the last year to improve the quality of car security.
§ The Minister of State, Home Office (Mr. John Patten)Progress could certainly be faster. For example, it is very disappointing that the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association, which has made an anti-car theft award to individual manufacturers, felt it necessary this year to withhold the award on the ground that no manufacturer had made great progress in improving car security.
However, I understand from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders that the motor industry is continuing to pursue a programme of security improvement. In large part, the society has worked with the Department of Transport towards the production of a European Commission directive based on part I of the British standard on vehicle security. It has also participated in industry meetings to produce an international standard on car alarms.
§ Mr. CarringtonMy right hon. Friend will be aware that my constituents will be disappointed with the attitude of the motor industry towards motor car security. He will also be aware that the bulk of crime in London these days is stealing from or of motor cars and that a great deal of it could be halted if motor cars were made more secure. Will my right hon. Friend impress upon the motor industry the vital and urgent importance of improving the security of new motor cars and devising ways of improving the security of existing motor cars?
§ Mr. PattenMy hon. Friend is right. Thefts from motor cars represent about 26 per cent. of the annual crime figures. Most of the increase in crime in the 1980s—I choose my words carefully—has been due to an increase in car-related crime. I think that that is accurately describable as the British disease. Car manufacturers could and should do more to help, as, perhaps, should the insurance industry.
§ Mr. AllasonIs my right hon. Friend aware that only one model of motor car in the United Kingdom is manufactured with a foolproof and tamper-proof milometer? Is not it high time that motor manufacturers were encouraged to have tamper-proof odometers in all vehicles so that those who enter the second-hand car market can at least be offered some protection?
§ Mr. PattenI was not aware of the issue which my hon. Friend has drawn to the attention of the House. It is a good idea that tamper-proof odometers should be available. It is a curious reflection that while motor cars in the United Kingdom have the same equipment fitted to them as do motor cars in West Germany, for example, our rate of car-related crime is much higher than that in West Germany. Fitting equipment is one thing; using the equipment properly is another. We are open to all suggestions. The Home Office will draw up a register of cars and rank them in terms of vulnerability to theft and break-in. I shall publish the information.
§ Mr. SkinnerWho would buy a second-hand car from this Government?
§ Mr. PattenI once bought a very good second-hand car from my hon. Friend the Member for Epping Forest (Mr. Norris). I had it for three or four years, and it gave me great service.