§ Viscount Simonasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will publish the numbers of vehicles detected by cameras for speeding offences in 2002, which were not taxed, or had no current MOT certificate, or were not covered by insurance; and [HL3331]
Whether they will ensure that Safety Camera Partnerships automatically check the Driver and Vehicle Liensing Agency and the Motor Insurance Database to confirm whether a vehicle, detected by speed cameras for speeding offences, is properly taxed and covered by insurance and where necessary use this information to pursue the driver; and [HL3332]
Whether the information which traffic or local authorities provide when seeking vehicle keeper data from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency for on-street parking or other highway infringements is used to (a) check whether the vehicle was taxed at the time; 168WA (b) check whether the vehicle was insured at the time; or (c) take action when vehicle excise duty and insurance offences appear to have been committed. [HL3333]
§ Lord Davies of OldhamCameras operated by Safety Camera Partnerships are used solely for the detection of excess speed at accident hotspots. They are not used to detect other driver or vehicle related offences. Consequently there is no information on the number of vehicles untaxed, with no current MOT or insurance detected by these cameras.
We have no plans to ask Safety Camera Partnerships to check with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), or the Motor Insurance Database to confirm that vehicles detected by their cameras are properly taxed and insured. The Government introduced continuous registration on 1 January 2004, which allows the DVLA to detect and enforce vehicle excise duty (VED) offences direct from the computerised vehicle record. It is no longer necessary to observe or record a vehicle on the road in order to take action. We are looking at the possibility of enforcing the law on motor insurance in a similar way, and will make an announcement in due course.
Local authorities normally seek information from DVLA on registered vehicle keepers in order to enforce parking offences. In return, traffic wardens and local authority parking attendants inform DVLA of suspected cases of VED evasion observed in the normal course of their duties. Moreover, 304,927 such offences were reported to DVLA in 2003–04. These reports are used to supplement the enforcement of continuous registration and allow the DVLA to pursue offenders for unpaid back duty.