§ Mr. BattleTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what effect the charge on the disposal of cars no longer licensed has had on the number of abandoned cars. [115930]
§ Mr. MeacherLocal authorities have the power to charge the person who they consider has abandoned a vehicle—for removal, storage and disposal costs—irrespective of whether a vehicle is licensed or not.
Local authorities have, however, had increasing difficulty in enforcing these charges because of the ease with which vehicles can fall out of the current UK vehicles register. New measures being introduced in January 2004, including an automatic £80 fine for failure to re-license a vehicle on time, should help remedy this problem by ensuring that a vehicle has a traceable keeper. If local authorities can enforce charges against those who abandon cars, this should act as a deterrent to their doing so.