§ Lord Beaumont of Whitleyasked Her Majesty's Government:
What measures are being taken to discourage the abandonment of unwanted vehicles; and what support they are giving to local authorities to deal with this problem. [HL761]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Whitty)Legislation already provides penalties for anyone abandoning a vehicle. These are a maximum £2,500 fine or three months' imprisonment, or both. However, the majority of abandoned vehicles are low value and near to the end of their life and it is often difficult to trace the last owner in order to prosecute them.
The Government are to consult shortly on longer term proposals for improving the accuracy of the DVLA vehicle register. The effect of these would be to make it more difficult for drivers to evade responsibility for their vehicles.
112WAThe consultation will also include proposals to make it easier for local authorities to deal with a vehicle once it has been abandoned by shortening notice periods so that vehicles can be removed more quickly.