Monday 15th October 2012

DVLA in 'cutting red tape' shocker

Less paperwork required to get your tax disc from the post office

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We’ve probably all been there. You’ve spent your whole lunch hour queuing to renew your tax disc (yes, you can do it online but you didn’t quite get round to it…), you finally reach the counter proud to be Doing The Right Thing and then some jobsworth takes issue with the emailed insurance certificate that’s all you have because your insurer no longer sends out hard copies. And refuses to sell you a tax disc. It’s an even bigger problem if you’ve just bought a car and, though you can insure it on the spot on the phone or online, without paperwork they won’t sell you a tax disc, despite the fact the police – and indeed anyone with an internet connection – can instantly tell whether or not you’re insured via the Motor Insurance Database.

Ask MID website instantly confirms cover

But in a most ungovernmental approach to good sense and reducing red tape Roads Minister Stephen Hammond has today announced a consultation with the intention of removing the requirement to present your insurance documents when renewing your tax disc.

“There is absolutely no benefit in making motorists prove they have insurance when they buy a tax disc now that we regularly check existing databases for insurance under Continues Insurance Enforcement rules,” says Hammond in a DVLA press release.

“The introduction of Continuous Insurance Enforcement last year was always designed to provide a more robust and technology driven solution to ensuring that vehicles have insurance in place,” continues Ashton West of the Motor Insurance Database.”

The consultation starts today and runs until November 26; have your say here.

[IanJ9375]

Why not go the whole hog and remove the need to display a disc at all?
Even less red tape and just have a db such as the askmid site to confirm a licence is in place?

[storminnorman]

IanJ9375 said:

Why not go the whole hog and remove the need to display a disc at all?
Even less red tape and just have a db such as the askmid site to confirm a licence is in place?

that would be too sensible, I think they've just used up their sensible quota for one year

[legalknievel]

Wahey!

Now how about cutting road tax for cars that sit in the garage most of the time and only come out for weekends or the summer? A bridge too far I suspect.

[vidfletch]

Will this include not having to show your MOT Certificate? Surely the same applies with this?

[Alex]

IanJ9375 said:

Why not go the whole hog and remove the need to display a disc at all?
Even less red tape and just have a db such as the askmid site to confirm a licence is in place?

Even better: scrap the licence altogether and replace with a small levy on fuel.

[CedricN]

The tax disc is really confusing, dont the police have any computers to check such things in the uk ?

[mk1matt]

Article Said said:

It’s an even bigger problem if you’ve just bought a car

I've taxed cars with a printed certificate before, with no problems. Generally my insurer sends me the docs by email within a few minutes of the phone call, so I can print them out and take them to the post office quite quickly.

Am I right in thinking that it takes a few days for the MID to update? If so, changing to an automated solution actually makes it harder to tax a car that you've just insured - unless they keep the paper option as well - lets hope they do!

[onyx39]

Alex said:

IanJ9375 said:

Why not go the whole hog and remove the need to display a disc at all?
Even less red tape and just have a db such as the askmid site to confirm a licence is in place?

Even better: scrap the licence altogether and replace with a small levy on fuel.

been saying this for years!

[Ozzie Osmond]

Brilliant. So now if the database isn't fully up-to-date you won't be able to tax your car at all - well known problem for people whose tax and insurance run out at the end of the same month. Which funnily enough they often do, because when you bought the car the previous year you taxed and insured it on the same day.

[DaveH23]

onyx39 said:

Alex said:

IanJ9375 said:

Why not go the whole hog and remove the need to display a disc at all?
Even less red tape and just have a db such as the askmid site to confirm a licence is in place?

Even better: scrap the licence altogether and replace with a small levy on fuel.

been saying this for years!

+1

[Mermaid]

Alex said:

Even better: scrap the licence altogether and replace with a small levy on fuel.

Too sensible

[C8LNJ]

Good shout, let's hope the next brainwave is in getting rid of road tax altogether! Stick another penny on fuel to cover it and scoff away in Westminster about how many trees you've just saved!?

[bulldog5046]

onyx39 said:

Alex said:

IanJ9375 said:

Why not go the whole hog and remove the need to display a disc at all?
Even less red tape and just have a db such as the askmid site to confirm a licence is in place?

Even better: scrap the licence altogether and replace with a small levy on fuel.

been saying this for years!

but how would it work?

For example, my tax is £30/year, your's might be £400/year. How much do we pay for fuel?

On the flip side, it makes taking the track car out on the road much more simple....

[scholesy]

Mermaid said:

Alex said:

Even better: scrap the licence altogether and replace with a small levy on fuel.

Too sensible

For someone like me that does so few miles a year I'd be laughing all the way to the bank! However I suspect the government know a lot of people (particularly in big cities that hardly use the car or retired folks etc) would use so little petrol they would lose revenue overall.

So basically the only people that will pay are the ones that commute. Pretty bad idea overall.

[4key]

I still dont understand the point of having to stick one peice of paper to your windscreen, surely it should be all three or none.

[Alex]

bulldog5046 said:

but how would it work?

For example, my tax is £30/year, your's might be £400/year. How much do we pay for fuel?

On the flip side, it makes taking the track car out on the road much more simple....

But that's the point. Why should someone pay £400/year for a weekend car that they rarely drive compared to a small diesel owner who does 40k miles a year?

A tax on fuel is directly proportional to emissions and usage. A tax on ownership is an authoritarian measure motivated by envy.

[otolith]

bulldog5046 said:

but how would it work?

For example, my tax is £30/year, your's might be £400/year. How much do we pay for fuel?

The reason yours is £30/year is that it is assumed (because your car is more fuel efficient) that you will use less fuel. You might not actually do so. You might do four times the mileage of the person paying £400 for a car that uses twice as much fuel per mile. In that sense, if you both pay the same for fuel but because you use more of it you end up paying more and he ends up paying less, the system has become fairer.

[confused_buyer]

As I understand the check will be removed all together - both paper and electronically and enforcement made by current ANPR and DVLA checks.

The argument is the check pretty pointless as anyone can cancel insurance 2 minutes after purchasing a tax disc so is not an effective check.

[tigggger]

Alex said:

Even better: scrap the licence altogether and replace with a small levy on fuel.

There's already a rather large levy on fuel.

[bulldog5046]

Alex said:

But that's the point. Why should someone pay £400/year for a weekend car that they rarely drive compared to a small diesel owner who does 40k miles a year?

A tax on fuel is directly proportional to emissions and usage. A tax on ownership is an authoritarian measure motivated by envy.

I guess it makes sense, i'd just feel hard done by as my monthly fuel bill would probably increase significantly...