§ Mr. CoxTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport who is responsible for taking action against untaxed motor vehicles and motor vehicles that have been abandoned and are on the public highway.
§ Mr. KeyThe Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, DVLA, administers and enforces the vehicle licensing regime. A pre-requisite to successful enforcement action is a formal sighting of the vehicle on a public road without a valid tax disc. The police and traffic wardens play a vital role in this process. They detect apparently unlicensed vehicles as part of their normal duties and report them to the DVLA for appropriate enforcement action.
Local authorities, together with the police, have powers under the Removal and Disposal of Vehicles Regulations 1986 to deal with vehicles that are illegally, obstructively or dangerously parked, abandoned or broken down. Their powers do not extend to vehicles simply because they are unlicensed. Where abandoned vehicles are also unlicensed, DVLA works with local authorities in identifying those persons responsible and in bringing them to book.