§ Mr. WalterTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency supplies local authorities with the vehicle registration numbers of people who are in arrears with their council tax payments. [160635]
§ Mr. JamiesonThe DVLA vehicle register is maintained primarily for vehicle taxation and law enforcement purposes and DVLA is registered under the Data Protection Act 1998 to carry out those duties.
The vehicle register is not an open record but information may be released in a number of circumstances. Section 29 (3) of the Data Protection Act exempts from its non-disclosure provisions information required for the assessment or collection of any tax or duty or of any imposition of a similar nature. Under this exemption, local authorities apply to DVLA for keeper details to trace council tax debtors through the registration numbers of their vehicles.