§ Malcolm BruceTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what action she(a) has taken and (b) plans to take to reduce the number of abandoned cars; and if she will make a statement. [31587]
§ Mr. MeacherThe Government recently consulted on a package of measures to help deal with the abandoned vehicles problems. The main proposals were: reducing the notice periods used by local authorities so that abandoned vehicles could be removed more quickly; enabling local authorities to use DVLA's powers to remove unlicensed vehicles and to provide better access for them to DVLA's records; and promoting exchanges of best practice between local authorities with a view to deterring vehicles from being abandoned, bringing forward changes to vehicle registration and licensing procedures to ensure greater accuracy of DVLA's vehicle record.
The consultation period closed on 31 January and the Government are now considering the responses.