Clause 15 - Interpretation of part I
Vehicles (Crime) Bill
10:00 am
Mr Charles Clarke (Minister of State, Home Office; Norwich South, Labour)
I fundamentally agree with my hon. Friend, who has set out the situation clearly. The first of the three categories to which he referred—a vehicle that has been written off by the owner—is dealt with by what I said earlier. It is clear that those circumstances are covered by the definition. The second category—a vehicle written off by the insurance company because of the assessment of costs—is explicitly included within the definition. The third category—a vehicle written off by an insurance company that has come to the judgment that the vehicle cannot safely be repaired—is, again, specifically included within the definition. I am happy to confirm that my hon. Friend's understanding of the matter is correct
The issues that my hon. Friend reasonably and rightly raises concern road safety, but the Bill is not principally about that, although I think and I hope that there will be a knock-on effect, for the sake of the safety considerations that he has mentioned. The Bill is principally about who conducts the repairs in the circumstances that he mentioned; it is about the salvage companies. They are what we are trying to target. I hope that in the light of that, the hon. Member for Colchester will withdraw his amendment.