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Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what his latest assessment is of the number of car owners driving inNorthern Ireland without valid (a) car tax, (b) insurance, (c) MOT certification and (d) drivinglicence; and what steps he is taking to reduce these figures. [151326]Angela Smith: The information is as follows:(a) The most recent detailed survey on vehicle excise duty evasion, undertaken in mid-2002, indicated that there were 74,700unlicensed vehicles in the private and light goods (cars and vans) tax categories.(b) No detailed information is held on the number of car drivers without valid insurance, but a report produced by the PSNIconcerning 107 unlicensed vehicles, under operation Nemesis, in October 2002 indicated that 80 per cent. were also evadinginsurance requirements. The Association of British Insurers, 51 Gresham Street, London, EC2B 7HQ may have more detailed informationon uninsured drivers.(c) An analysis of data collected in 2002 estimated that 28 per cent. of vehicles of MOT age did not have valid MOTcertificates at the date of sighting. This would equate to approximately 150,000 vehicles.(d) No information is held on the number of car owners driving without a valid driving licence.A range of measures are in place to reduce vehicle excise duty evasion and indirectly insurance and MOT evasion as valid insuranceand MOT documents have to be produced at re-licensing. These include on-going detection by the PSNI and traffic wardens, wheel-clamping, detection by Automated Number Plate Reading cameras, Statutory Off Road Notification, and from 1 January 2004, theintroduction of Continuous Registration, which allows detection from the vehicle record. There are also special joint exercisesinvolving the PSNI, HM Customs and Excise, Driver and Vehicle Licensing Northern Ireland (DVLNI) and Driver and Vehicle TestingAgency.Specific measures to tackle MOT evasion include the introduction of an MOT disc for display at present voluntarily, but which willbe made mandatory in 2004-05, on vehicle windscreens, and the intention to issue MOT reminders starting in March 2004.The detection of those driving without a valid driving licence is a matter for the PSNI and tackled through their on-going programmeof enforcement against traffic offences. Reminders are issued by DVLNI to all driving licence holders prior to the expiry of theirlicence. |