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Motor Insurance Database

I shall come to that point. The insurance industry itself has agreed a contractual Government power to levy a penalty of up to £250,000 on insurers who fail to meet their obligations to update the MID. The power has been exercised in several instances. In addition, of course, any insurer that persistently provides wrong or late data will certainly suffer bad publicity. Insurers should be mindful of that, because it affects their customer base. The hon. Gentleman’s suggestion that insurers should pay the costs of incorrect seizure is interesting, although its practicability would need to be assessed. We can all agree that there is every reason to encourage the insurance industry to get it right. With that in mind, I intend to write to the insurance industry about improving the submission of data to the database so as to minimise the type of problem that he mentioned and to ensure proper compliance in future. I will pass on his suggestions, ask officials to explore them with the insurance industry and reply to him with the results. The Government are committed to tackling uninsured driving. The hon. Gentleman will be aware that the Road Safety Act 2006 included powers for a continuous insurance enforcement scheme—a preventive scheme intended to minimise the likelihood of uninsured motorists using a motor vehicle—in addition to existing enforcement powers. My officials are working up plans for detailed regulations and will be consulting soon. I am sure that he will be interested in responding. I hope that that reassures the hon. Gentleman that the Government take his points seriously. We will write to the insurance industry as well as undertaking wider measures to ensure that motorists take out insurance when they need it, because we are all aware of the distress that non-compliance can cause. Sitting suspended until half-past Two o’clock.