§ Tim LoughtonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to increase penalties for drivels who cause accidents(a) while banned from driving and (b) who do not have the required (i) insurance and (ii) MOT cover. [169068]
§ Caroline FlintWhere an accident appears to be the result of an offence, the driver will be prosecuted for the appropriate offence or offences committed. We have recently increased the maximum penalty for causing death offences to 14 years.
Charges in respect of driving while disqualified, with no insurance or with no MOT cover can be brought whether or not a driver has been involved in an accident. The maximum penalties are respectively six months' imprisonment or a fine at Level 5 on the standard scale, a fine at Level 5 and a fine at either Level 3 or Level 4 according to the number of passengers a vehicle is adapted to carry. We have no current plans to increase these maxima.