Untaxed vehicles at highest level for 14 years, says DVLA

THE number of untaxed vehicles is at its highest in more than a decade after fewer officers policed evasion during the pandemic, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) has said.

Some 1.9 per cent of vehicles on UK roads, equating to 719,000, were unlicensed in 2021, according to the latest figures. This is the greatest proportion over the past 14 years. In 2007, the proportion was 1 per cent, and in 2019 it was 1.6 per cent.

The DVLA said this unpaid tax had led to a loss of £119million in potential revenue in the past year alone.

It pointed to Covid-19 as partly responsible, as there was a decision “to limit enforcement activity” at the height of the pandemic.

Nicholas Lyes, head of roads policy at the RAC, said: “It’s hugely concerning that we’re seeing ever greater numbers of unlicensed vehicles on the roads.”