§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many names and addresses of vehicle owners and keepers have been disclosed to third parties by virtue of that party showing reasonable cause for the disclosure in the last three years; if he can break down disclosure statistics by categories of reasonable cause if the DVLA alerts such third parties to the offence under section 55 of the Data Protection Act 1998; what data matching exercises he has undertaken to identify those who might be using the third party facility as a means of tracing individuals who do not want to be traced; and if he will make a statement. [129189]
§ Mr. HillThe number of 'reasonable cause' inquiries of the vehicle register maintained by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) during the last three years is as follows:
- 1997–98: 629,808
- 1998–99: 830,970
- 1999–2000: 883,522
The main source of inquires is insurance companies in respect of claims, and finance houses for vehicle-related loan agreements. The remainder are from solicitors and 43W car parking enforcement companies etc. Information is disclosed under strictly defined terms and conditions and recipients are subject to periodic audit.
Information is released to about 2,500 private individuals each year. They must give a full written explanation for their inquiry together with supporting evidence, such as a police incident or insurance policy number. Around 1,500 such inquiries are refused each year.
The Agency works closely with the Data Protection Commissioner to facilitate prosecution for the handful of offences that come to light each year.
Department of the Environment Transport and Regions private finance initiative (PFI) contracts PFI contract1 Date of contract signature Capital value (£ million) Subject to refinancing? Does DETR have a claw-back entitlement to share in savings arising from refinancing? Channel Tunnel Rail Link February 1996 4,178 No 2Yes Birmingham North Relief Road3 (Highways Agency) February 1992 4450 No No A69 Carlisle to Newcastle (Highways Agency) January 1996 9 No No A1(M) Alconbury to Peterborough (Highways Agency) February 1996 128 No No A419/A417 Swindon to Gloucester (Highways Agency) February 1996 49 No No M1-A1 Lofthouse to Bramham Link Road (Highways Agency) March 1996 214 No No A50 Stoke to Derby (Highways Agency) May 1996 21 No No A30/A35 Exeter to Bere Regis (Highways Agency) July 1996 75 No No A19/A168 Dishforth to Tyne Tunnel (Highways Agency) August 1996 29 No No M40 Denham to Warwick (Highways Agency) October 1996 65 No No A13 Thames Gateway (Highways Agency) April 2000 146 No No Catering (Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre)5 February 1997 3 n/a n/a MOT Computerisation (Vehicle Inspectorate) February 2000 38 No No Spirit IT (Countryside Agency)5 November 1997 4.5 n/a n/a 1 Contracting authority in brackets 2 Although there is no clause for sharing in the benefits of refinancing of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link, the Department would directly benefit as it would reduce the requirement for an operating subsidy in future years 3 Finance for the Birmingham Northern Relief Road has yet to be finalised 4 Approximate figure 5 The contractor did not require finance for this contract so refinancing would not arise
Private finance initiative contracts which required the approval of Department of the Environment Transport and Regions Ministers PFI contract1 Date of contract signature Capital value (£ million) Subject to refinancing? Does the contracting authority have a claw-back entitlement to share in savings arising from refinancing? Northern Line Trains (London Underground) April 1995 409 No No Power (London Underground) August 1998 108 No No Prestige (London Underground) August 1998 137 No No British Transport Police (London Underground) March 1999 13 No No Connect (London Underground) November 1999 355 No No Croydon Tramlink (London Transport) November 1996 205 No Yes Oceanic Flight Data Processing System (National Air Traffic Services Ltd.) June 1997 18 No No 1 Contracting authority in brackets