§ Mr. Parrisasked the Secretary of State for Transport what is the Government's policy towards cherished number plates; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. FowlerI am anxious to offer members of the public who wish to keep or obtain particular registration numbers a much more convenient service. The present arrangements are far too restrictive and I believe that they can be considerably eased.
I am today publishing a consultation paper which suggests changes which could be made to sweep away most of the existing bureacratic rules and replace them with a simple guide. Some safeguards are necessary to ensure that numbers are not transferred without the consent of the owners concerned, but these should be kept to a minimum. There seems, for example, no good reason why straightforward transfers should not be allowed between different vehicles owned by different people, which is not possible under the present rules. Nor should it he necessary, as it now is, for vehicles involved in transfers to be specially inspected in all cases.
It would assist simplification of the transfer arrangements if all registration numbers still in use were on the Department's computer record. There are still some vehicles, possibly laid up over recent years, which are not on the record. I am therefore also proposing that we should set a date to give the owners of such vehicles a final opportunity to have them properly entered on the record and so to retain their old registration numbers.
Before I come to final conclusions I want to consider views of the public and interested bodies. The consultation paper will be sent to a large number of organisations and clubs representing motorists and classic vehicle owners. But anyone wishing to see a copy should get in touch with my Department at this address:
Cherished Numbers
D9/10
Driver and Vehicle Licensing Centre
Longview Road
SWANSEA
SA6 7JL.
Copies of the consultation paper have been placed in the Library and the Vote Office.