§ Mr. FrenchTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is his estimate of the amount of revenue that is lost to the insurance industry each year through non-insured vehicles.
§ Mr. KeyThe insurance industry's best estimate is that about 5 per cent. of all drivers are uninsured, though it is not possible to verify this figure. At that level, the industry estimate that they are losing about £375 million a year in premium income.
§ Mr. FrenchTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what measures he is taking to limit the number of road tax evaders.
§ Mr. KeyThe Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency and the police are taking vigorous and effective action against vehicle excise duty (VED) evaders.
Last year over 435,000 evaders were penalised with £37.5 million recovered. In addition an estimated 180,000 evaders relicensed as a direct result of enforcement action, recovering a further £14 million. The number of evaders brought to book has steadily increased over the last 10 years and this trend is planned to continue. Factors involved include the streamlining of the enforcement effort following an efficiency scrutiny, the introduction of new technology, the continuing programme of joint campaigns with the police and most recently the red windscreen warning notice scheme.