§ Mr. FallonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will consult police and local authorities about amending paragraph 10 of the Removal and Disposal of Vehicles Regulations 1986 (SI 1986/183) so as to reduce the period before which notice must be affixed to vehicles about to be removed for destruction from seven to three days. [101719]
§ Mr. MullinWe have no plans to consult the police or local authorities on changing the period of notice they must give before removing abandoned vehicles. The existing regulations are intended to provide owners with safeguards against a local authority prematurely assuming a vehicle is abandoned and having it towed away for scrap. They also ensure that local authorities do not have to go to the unnecessary expense of removing and storing vehicles that may not, in the event, have been abandoned.
We believe that the current legislation provides a good balance between the powers of the police and local authorities to deal with abandoned vehicles and the rights of vehicle owners.