Corporate Management Services
C3 East
DVLA
Longview Road
Swansea
SA6 7JL
Telephone / 01792 783577
A Thomas
/ Fax / 01792 788250
Email /
Website / www.direct.gov.uk/motoring
Your Ref / Email July 22 2008
Our Ref / FOIR 1167
Date: / 8 August 2008
Dear Sir/Madam,
Freedom of information request
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency has now completed its search for the information you requested on 22nd July 2008. In your email you asked could you please state what actions the DVLA, Trading Standards and the Police take to ensure that the information held on the register of number plate supplies is accurate?
DVLA is the keeper of the Register of Number Plate Supplier (RNPS) database. When a supplier requests to join the scheme there are some checks made. For example if it is a Limited company a check is made with Companies House for its status. If the applicant is a sole trader or a partnership involved in activities such as printing/ sign writing or solely number plate making then we ask for written details of their businesses.
Enforcement officers from DVLA and DVA (for Northern Ireland) carry out unannounced inspections of suppliers premises. These visits feed information back into the RNPS database to correct any anomalies found.
There is no level of accuracy defined for the RNPS database, nor is it measured/bench marked against other databases.
You also asked could you also state what level of accuracy the database is currently held at and what level the government/DVLA requires it not to fall beneath?
Under section 21 of the Act, we are not required to provide information which is already reasonably accessible to you. The information you requested is available on the Department’s website http://www.dvla.gov.uk/publications.aspx under the DVLA Annual Report and Accounts 2007-08, Secretary of State targets. If you do not have access to the Internet at home, you may be able to use facilities at your local public library, or you can request a paper copy by contacting me.
The information supplied to you continues to be protected by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. You are free to use it for your own purposes, including any non-commercial research you are doing and for the purposes of news reporting. Any other re-use, for example commercial publication, would require the permission of the copyright holder.
Most documents supplied by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency will have been produced by government officials and will be Crown Copyright. You can find details on the arrangements for re-using Crown copyright on the Office of Public Sector Information website at:
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/click-use/index.htm.
If you are unhappy with the way the Agency has handled your request, you may ask for an internal review. You should contact Mark Truelove, CMS, C3 East, DVLA, Longview Road, Morriston, SWANSEA, SA6 7JL, or by email, if you wish to complain in the first instance. If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have the right to apply to the Information Commissioner for a decision. The Information commissioner can be contacted at:-
Information Commissioners Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
If you have any queries about this letter, please contact me. Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future communications.
Yours sincerely
Ashley Crompton
Corporate Management Services
Page 2 of 2