To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many motor cars have been seized wrongly owing to (a) inaccuracies in and (b) omissions from the Motor Insurers’ Database in the last year for which figures are available, broken down by police authority in England. (241519)

This information is not collected centrally. The police are empowered to seize any vehicle where the driver cannot produce a valid certificate of insurance and there are reasonable grounds for believing he or she is driving without appropriate insurance. In forming their opinion the police will typically refer to the Motor Insurers’ Database and the dedicated police helpline provided by the Motor Insurance Bureau to help resolve any apparent discrepancy between database information and assertions by the motorist.