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Written question asked by Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat) on Friday, 2 January 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 6 January 2026. It was answered by Lilian Greenwood (Labour) on Monday, 12 January 2026 on behalf of the Department for Transport.

Vehicle Number Plates

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of non-compliant vehicle registration plates on the enforcement of motor insurance requirements.

Answer

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is working with the National Police Chiefs’ Council and other Government departments to improve the identification and enforcement of number plate crime, including the use of cloned and ghost number plates.

On-road enforcement of number plate offences and insurance requirements is a matter for the police. However, the DVLA works with the Motor Insurers Bureau (MIB) to identify uninsured vehicles by comparing the DVLA’s vehicle records against those held on the MIB’s Motor Insurance Database.

The Department welcomes the recent report by the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Transport Safety and is considering the report’s recommendations. Options to support more robust application and audit processes, which would enable tighter checks on number plate suppliers are also being considered.

The Government has set out its intention in the Road Safety Strategy to consult on addressing the growing problem of illegal number plates, including ‘ghost’ number plates.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
102302
Session
2024-26
Related items
Deposited Paper DEP2026-0008
Wednesday, 7 January 2026
Deposited papers
House of Commons
Grouped for answer
Yes
Subjects
Vehicle number plates Motor insurance
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk