HC Deb 17 March 2003 vol 401 cc534-5W
Mr. Don Foster

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency's automatic number plate reader project. [102787]

Mr. Jamieson

DVLA currently has 11 automatic number plate reader vans in operation across the UK, with a further four becoming available by mid 2003. They form part of the Agency's deterrent to combat vehicle excise duty (VED) evasion and were first introduced on a phased basis in October 2001.

The vans are continually involved in joint police/DVLA VED enforcement campaigns. They attract useful media coverage and receive positive support from the motoring public.

Over the last year the automatic number plate readers have provided DVLA with 30,000 VED offence reports.