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Motor Vehicles: Excise Duties

Volume 471: debated on Thursday 31 January 2008

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many cars were impounded and destroyed for failure to pay vehicle excise duty in (a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland in each of the last six years. (183504)

Unlicensed vehicles on a public road are clamped. If a release fee and either a tax disc or surety payment is not made within 24 hours, the vehicles are impounded. If fees are not paid, the vehicle will be disposed of either by it being scrapped, recycled to the emergency services or, in a few cases, sold. Information we hold on the number of vehicles subject to these enforcement steps is:

Vehicles clamped

Of these: vehicles impounded

Vehicles disposed of by scrapping or sale

England

2002

32,270

21,391

16,583

2003

57,794

37,015

27,354

2004

61,732

44,449

30,994

2005

77,355

57,578

36,004

2006

78,272

56,986

33,763

2007

108,385

65,010

39,872

Total

415,808

282,429

184,570

Scotland

2002

3,062

2,494

2,011

2003

5,199

3,347

2,876

2004

4,028

2,611

2,277

2005

4,030

2,385

2,068

2006

4,393

2,761

2,197

2007

8,209

3,986

3,005

Total

28,921

17,584

14,434

Wales

2002

1,274

763

689

2003

2,290

1,225

1,090

2004

2,265

1,299

1,080

2005

2,613

1,855

1,303

2006

4,144

2,315

1,500

2007

7,048

3,589

2,368

Total

19,634

11,046

8,030

Northern Ireland

2002

1

1

1

2003

1

1

1

2004

1

1

1

2005

1,329

1

283

2006

3,132

911

849

2007

5,039

1,213

557

Total

9,500

2,124

1,689

Total

2002

36,606

24,648

19,283

2003

65,283

41,587

31,320

2004

68,025

48,359

34,351

2005

85,327

61,818

39,658

2006

89,941

62,973

38,309

2007

128,681

73,798

45,802

Total

473,863

313,183

208,723

1 No figures available.