§ Lord Lamont of Lerwickasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether any government regulations have been or are to be altered to allow space to be made for the European Union logo to be incorporated within United Kingdom car number plates; and [HL2880]
Whether the decision to have a European Union logo incorporated in any new car number plate is a decision for sellers of new motor cars; and [HL2881]
Whether any government department has since 1997 had any discussions with any office of the European Union about increasing the number of car number plates in the United Kingdom that incorporate the symbol of the European Union; and [HL2882]
Whether they have any knowledge of any measures taken by any office of the European Union to encourage the use in the United Kingdom of the European Union symbol on United Kingdom car number plates; and [HL2883]
Whether they have any knowledge of European Union funding of any kind being made available to encourage the use in the United Kingdom of the European Union symbol on car number plates. [HL2884]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (Lord Whitty)The Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions has consulted the public on proposals to amend the regulations on the display of vehicle registration marks. Views were invited on a number of issues, including whether the new regulations should permit the voluntary display of the European Union symbol in accordance with the Council Regulation (EC) No. 2411/98. In the light of the comments received, I announced on 30 March this year that new regulations would be made in the near future to include provision for the voluntary use of the symbol. A copy of the Department's Press Release (number 252) was placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
The provision of number plates on new cars is a matter between the buyer and seller. The purpose of Council Regulation 2411/98 is to allow motorists to dispense with the need to display a separate national identity sticker when using their vehicles within the EU. Proposals for the Council regulation were discussed with member states in the normal way. I am not aware of any funding being made available to encourage the use of the EU symbol on number plates. It will be for individual motorists to decide if they wish to make use of this option or continue to use the traditional oval GB sticker when driving UK registered vehicles in other member states.