§ Mr. Brandon-Bravoasked the Secretary of State for Transport what measures are proposed to help combat the international trade in stolen vehicles.
§ Mr. Michael SpicerMy Department has recently concluded an agreement with the registration authorities of the Federal Republic of Germany for the bilateral exchange of information about used vehicles which are imported or exported between the two countries.
From 1 March, motorists with West German registered vehicles seeking to registr them in Britain will need to surrender their West German registration documents. These will be cancelled and returned to the Federal Republic for checks to identify stolen vehicles and forged documents. A similar scheme will be introduced from the same date for British registered vehicles entering West Germany.
These arrangements will not only help to limit the movement of stolen vehicles between the two countries, but will improve the accuracy of the records held at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Centre.
Negotiations with other European countries for similar agreements are now in hand and I shall be making further announcements in due course.