Unlicensed Vehicles (Hansard, 19 December 2000)

§ Mr. Stephen Twigg
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what the average cost was for a prosecution brought against the owners of unlicensed vehicles in each of the last three years. [142542]

§ Mr. Hill
The average cost for a prosecution against VED offenders in 1997–98 and 1908–99 was £30 per case. This was recalculated in 1999–2000 and is now estimated to be £45. Costs are always sought by DVLA in all court cases.
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§ Mr. Stephen Twigg
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what action his Department is taking to improve the arrangements for receiving revenue lost as a result of road vehicles not displaying road tax licences. [142543]

§ Mr. Hill
DVLA will take action against VED evaders in increasing numbers. In addition to offering out of court settlements and prosecutions the Agency will induce increasing numbers of evaders to relicense voluntarily through publicity campaigns.
Recent initiatives include the introduction of a scheme to wheelclamp and impound unlicensed vehicles. Over the past three years the scheme has encouraged over 325,000 motorists voluntarily to relicense bringing in some £38 million in additional revenue.
Motorists are now required to notify DVLA if their vehicle is taken off the road unlicensed under the statutory off road notification scheme. Dispensing with a 'do nothing' option when a vehicle licence expires dissuades evasion and also helps to create a more accurate vehicle record.
DVLA is shortly to trial the use of digital camera technology to detect and deter VED evaders, and a nationwide roll out of automatic number plate readers is planned for the early summer of 2001. In addition, the Agency is working closely with police forces to make use of police cameras in the same way.

§ Mr. Stephen Twigg
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many people were sent notification of intended prosecution for failure to display a road vehicle tax disc; and how much revenue was recovered as a result, in each of the last three years. [142541]

§ Mr. Hill
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency takes enforcement action against vehicle keepers for VED evasion. Most are offered the opportunity to pay an out of court settlement (OCS) while more serious cases, and those who fail to pay an OCS, result in prosecution. Figures for the past three years, including total revenue collected from all enforcement action, are as follows:

OCS Prosecution Total Revenue (£ million)

1997–1998 268,163 233,036 72

1998–1999 218,786 256,332 79

1999–2000 209,678 239,291 86

§ Mr. Stephen Twigg
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what estimate he has made of the number of unlicensed vehicles being used on UK roads; and what estimate he has made of the revenue lost as a result in the current financial year. [142540]

§ Mr. Hill
A roadside survey conducted by departmental statisticians in June 1999 estimated that 1.5 million vehicles were evading vehicle duty (VED) in GB. The level of evasion was calculated at 3.9 per cent. of revenue due, equivalent to a loss of £183 million in the current financial year. The 1999 survey indicated a drop in the VED evasion level for the first time and represents a saving of £17 million a year from the previous estimate of 4.1 per cent.

	OCS	Prosecution	Total Revenue (£ million)
1997–1998	268,163	233,036	72
1998–1999	218,786	256,332	79
1999–2000	209,678	239,291	86