That question is posed by a new consultation document from the Department for Transport.
The rules governing access to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency’s (DVLA) and the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Northern Ireland (DVLNI) vehicle registers are 40 years old. They did not anticipate electronic databases or a range of third parties seeking access.
At present, access to the vehicle registers is specifically granted to the police, Customs and Excise and to local authorities investigating an offence or civil parking contravention. But information can also be given to persons who can show ‘reasonable cause’. This includes the identification of abandoned vehicles, safety recall exercises, the pursuit of a driver in order that a civil action can be brought against him, or the tracing of company assets.
Surprisingly, the Consultation document does not indicate the number of 'reasonable cause' requests received per year; nor does it indicate the number of such requests fulfilled. The last known figures came in response to a Parliamentary Question in July 2004.
For the year 2003/04, the number of 'reasonable cause' enquiries resulting in the disclosure of keeper details was 1,014,309. Most of these came from insurance companies and finance houses in respect of insurance claims and vehicle-related loan arrangements. The remainder came from solicitors, car parking enforcement companies and members of the public.
Access to the register on ‘reasonable cause’ is granted either on a case-by-case basis or through approved conditional access.
Case-by-case requests are time consuming, requiring applicants to provide details about themselves, the vehicle involved, the reason for the request, details and evidence relating to the incident and the intentions of the applicant upon obtaining the data
Approved conditional access, on the other hand, is granted to those who require DVLA data on a regular basis, and fulfil certain conditions, such as making a commitment to only use the data for the purpose for which it is requested. Local authorities, insurance companies and car parking firms have been given this type of access in the past.
But the Department for Transport is not sure whether it should be relying on this ‘reasonable cause’ approach in today’s climate. It is therefore seeking views on the types of organisations that should have information from the register, and their reasons for having it, how to manage access to the register and the audit regime for those who are granted access.
Comments are sought by 31st March.
"We think it's very important to protect privacy and confidentiality, and I understand why many people have serious concerns about the kinds of organisations that receive information from the vehicle register,” said Roads Minister Stephen Ladyman. “The time is now right to look again at whether these rules are right for today's circumstances."
He added: "We want a system that protects people from misuse of their personal details, but that enables organisations and individuals with a good reason to identify the keeper of a vehicle to do so."
According to Dr. Chris Pounder of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind OUT-LAW.COM:
“The public discussion over tracing disclosures from the DVLA is long overdue as the number of 'reasonable cause' disclosures from the DVLA is enormous – albeit the figure was omitted from the Consultation document. From a privacy perspective, the most important part of the paper is the audit regime which permits a formal mechanism whereby those who are affected by the disclosure can comment on the appropriateness of that release.”
