§ Siobhain McDonaghTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many publicly operated car pounds there are in(a) London and (b) the UK; what their locations are; and how many car pounds are operated by the DVLA in (i) London and (ii) the UK. [86910]
§ Mr. JamiesonDVLA operates one permanent car pound in London and 13 permanent pounds in the rest of the UK. Temporary pounds are set up to service DVLA's two mobile wheelclamping teams as required.
In addition, six local authorities have taken on devolved powers to clamp and impound unlicensed vehicles in partnership with DVLA. These are the London boroughs of Croydon, Lewisham, Newham and Wandsworth, together with Hastings and Southend-on-Sea. Each authority has a separate car pound for this purpose. DVLA is in discussion with a further 11 local authorities on devolved powers.
The information requested on publicly operated car pounds is not immediately available. I will write to my hon. Friend as soon as it has been obtained and will place a copy of my letter in the Libraries if the House.