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Vehicle Registration Marks Bill

moved the amendment: "Clause 1, page 1, line 16, at end insert—""““(1B) Any regulations made under subsection (1) shall provide for any plate displaying a registration mark which is to be assigned to another vehicle under those regulations to be manufactured, distributed and fitted in an approved manner.””" The noble Lord said: I declare my interest as chairman of the European Secure Vehicle Alliance and the associated parliamentary group dedicated to the reduction of vehicle-related crime and disorder. I offer my thanks to the Public Bill Office for its help in drafting this amendment and to the noble Lord, Lord Bassam, for the copy of the letter he sent to my noble friend, which was most helpful. This amendment aims to capture many of the comments and concerns expressed at Second Reading and subsequently. ACPO’s vehicle crime intelligence service has received extensive media coverage of its call for fundamental changes to the manufacture and supply of vehicle number plates. In addition, I am aware of the recent correspondence from the Jill Dando Institute of Crime Science which reminded the Government of their recommendations which advocate similar changes. It must be acknowledged that the great majority of concerns expressed focus on general issues associated with number plates and the aim of this amendment is to encapsulate those matters in a way that makes them meaningful in the context of the Bill. In situations where vehicle registration marks are being retained pending transfer, the Bill is amended so that it is possible to specify the manufacture, distribution and fitment of the number plates associated with the transaction when they appear on a vehicle. The purpose of the amendment is to help to establish that such a requirement is needed and appropriate for all new and replacement number plates on all vehicles in future. On this occasion, one might consider that we are paving the way for a small test market prior to national expansion. It is becoming increasingly evident that the number plate marketplace is falling into disrepute. Thefts of number plates are increasingly prevalent and are considerably in excess of 40,000 per year. It is a relatively new crime that surfaced with the introduction of the London congestion charge in 2003. Bearing in mind the growing interest in road-pricing schemes and the considerable policing investment in automatic number plate recognition, it must be appropriate to seek to establish a revised marketplace for number plates which is more fit for purpose in the new century. I commend this amendment as an enabling procedure that allows the Minister to start to move forward on the matter of gaining more control of the manufacture, supply and fitment of number plates in such a way that will ultimately lead to them to having a provenance comparable to that of bank notes or, perhaps more accurately, vehicle passports. I beg to move.