§ Mr. Iain Millsasked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will strengthen the legislative requirements for proof of ownership of vehicles where cars are sold without log books on the excuse that they are lost or require revision by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Centre, Swansea.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeVehicle registration documents record the keepers of vehicles. These are not necessarily the legal owners and so the documents are not proof of ownership. Any prospective purchaser of a vehicle would be advised to check that a vendor has a right to sell, whether or not a registration document is produced.
I do not believe that there is enough evidence of difficulties to justify legislation, and the Director General of Fair Trading in his report "Consumer Difficulties in the Used Car Sector" did not identify this as a specific problem.