Road Safety Bill [HL]

My Amendment No. 130A, which is grouped with my noble friend’s amendment, seems to be coming from a different angle; we want to tighten it up. In speaking to the proposed new clause entitled ““Designated registration plate manufacturers””, I first declare an interest as I served as chairman of the European Secure Vehicle Alliance, an associated parliamentary group dedicated to the reduction of vehicle-related crime and disorder. The central DVLA operation in Swansea opened 40 years ago in 1965 and was enabled by the growing power and availability of mainframe computers. Some 30 years ago, the UK vehicle registration plate makers market consisted of only a handful of manufacturers and distributors, but now new computer technology has resulted in a proliferation of supply sources who can access a variety of individual components required to assemble and produce a registration plate. The DVLA records indicate that 32,000 suppliers and 38,000 outlets are registered as a result of the Vehicles (Crimes) Act 2001. It was only 30 years ago that technology was developing to enable the automatic reading of vehicle number plates which, 15 years ago, provided a platform enabling the City of London to establish the ring of steel to counter the threat of terrorist bombs being driven into the City. The technology of camera quality has developed significantly so that now cameras can read accurately all lanes of fast-moving motorway traffic and, equally importantly, the back-office facility has been developed so that 32 million data inputs from automotive number plate readings can be processed every day. Three elements of the proposed amendment aim to maximise the advantages of new technology that were not fully appreciated in the past decade and were neither incorporated in the Vehicles (Crime) Act 2001 nor the small but welcome amendments currently in the Bill. The extremely fragmented methods of supply and distribution of vehicle registration plates is completely in conflict with our growing capacity to track vehicle movement, which has the power to continue to reduce criminality across an extremely wide spectrum from congestion charge evasion to driving while disqualified, to stolen vehicles, burglary, drug dealing, and terrorism. The proposed amendments are all welcomed by ACPO, the Association of Chief Police Officers, as it addresses issues of growing significance that are detracting from its ability to continue to reduce crime and disorder. For example, Luton police reported 316 known cases of stolen vehicle registration plates in the past year. Hertfordshire police reported an average of 83 cases of stolen vehicle registration plates per month over the past three months versus an average of 63 cases over the previous 12 months, which is an increase of 30 per cent. In addition, Hertfordshire police report that incidents of stolen vehicle registration plates now constitute 20 per cent of all instances of theft from motor vehicles versus being only 10 per cent in the previous months. The amendment seeks to enable a step change in our capacity to reduce all elements of criminality associated with vehicles. The market for manufacturing, assembly and supply of vehicle registration plates must be reframed as a service business for a limited number of approved manufacturers receive, accredit and despatch orders in required time frames for both the vehicle industry and consumers. That outcome will help enhance the ability of cameras to read vehicle registration plates that are produced to precise standards. Currently, the maximum standard for the ANPR system is 95 per cent readability. Encouragingly, 98 per cent is capable of being achieved. Many problematic motorists fall in that remaining 2 per cent. Finally, the ultimate crime reduction approach is to eliminate the value of any crime by ensuring that criminals do not receive any benefit whatever. The DVLA, working in partnership with the police, needs to develop a system whereby any stolen vehicle registration plate is made void, and therefore has no value to the thief. The database comprising all stolen vehicle registration plates would be fed in to the ANPR database, and stops of vehicles carrying such plates would be given a high priority of apprehension.