§ Mrs. FitzsimonsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has to facilitate the reporting by the public of invalid road vehicle excise duty discs.[154445]
§ Mr. HillMembers of the public may report apparently unlicensed vehicles seen on the public road by providing details of the vehicle concerned, together with the location and details of the keeper, if known, to the nearest Local Office of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA). This information is used as a starting point for further investigation.
Alternatively, members of the public may complete specially designed witness statements which are available from the Agency's network of Local Offices. The statement form may also be downloaded from the DVLA website. If prosecution action follows, a copy of the statement containing the witness's name is made available to the alleged offender.
§ Mr. JenkinTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how much revenue was raised from motorcycle and moped vehicle excise duty in the last 12 month period for which figures are available, indicating the amount raised for each vehicle excise duty band; if he will estimate the rate of evasion, indicating the estimated number of untaxed motorcycles and mopeds used on public highways for each category; and if he will make a statement. [154721]
§ Mr. Hill[holding answer 20 March 2001]£40.3 million was raised in vehicle excise duty (VED) from motorcycles and mopeds in 1999–2000 in Great Britain.
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A B C F G H I Design capacity Actual number of people Hour Quarter-hour Hour Quarter-hour Line Busiest section Time capacity capacity capacity capacity Bakerloo Charing Cross to Piccadilly Circus 08.45–09.00 27,954 6,989 21,676 5,419 Central Bethnal Green to Liverpool Street 08.45–09.00 45,582 11,395 37,876 9,469 Victoria Victoria to Green Park 08.45–09.00 42,363 10,591 33,098 8,274 Waterloo and City Waterloo to Bank 07.45–08.00 14,818 3,704 11,854 2,964 Jubilee St. John's Wood to Baker Street 08.45–09.00 19,375 4,844 19,949 4,987 Northern Clapham North to Stockwell 08.45–09.00 28,258 6,564 29,286 7,321 Piccadilly Earl's Court to Gloucester Road 08.30–08.45 33,216 8,304 25,144 6,286 Circle Sloane Square to Victoria 17.30–17.45 8,958 2,240 8,493 2,123 Following a full roadside survey in 1999, it is estimated that there are around 265,000 unlicensed motorcycles and mopeds in GB. This represents a drop in the evasion level from 35 per cent. in 1994 to 25 per cent.
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency has a number of initiatives in hand to tackle the problem of unlicensed motorcycles. The Agency is working closely with the police in targeting unlicensed motorcycles at events and rallies and conducting specific motorcycle enforcement campaigns. The introduction of automatic number plate readers later this year will make it easier to detect unlicensed motorcycles. A consultation document will be issued shortly which will seek views on the introduction of a licence disc for motorcycles which cannot be removed intact once fixed to the number plate. As well as making it easier to detect unlicensed motorcycles this proposal should also resolve the problem of the theft of motorcycle licence discs.