§ Harry CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many names and addresses of vehicle owners or keepers have been disclosed by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority to third parties by virtue of that party showing reasonable cause for the disclosure over the last 12 months, broken down by category of reasonable cause; in how many cases disclosure has been subsequently shown not to be for a reasonable cause; what action was taken in each case; and if he will make a statement. [185951]
§ Mr. JamiesonThe DVLA vehicle register is a record of vehicle keepers. It does not contain details of the person who actually owns the vehicle.
The number of 'reasonable cause' enquiries resulting in the disclosure of keeper details for the year 2003/04 is 1,014,309. The majority of requests are from insurance companies and finance houses in respect of insurance claims and vehicle-related loan arrangements. The remainder are from solicitors, car parking enforcement companies and members of the public.
The Information Commissioner has powers under the Data Protection Act to prosecute anyone who knowingly obtains information without consent. Any disclosure subsequently used for a purpose other that stated in the application is referred to the Commissioner to investigate. Two such cases were referred in the past year.