02/04/2024 – FoIA request: I ask to be provided information held about the/your:
- agreement for the sharing of
a. the UK’s PNC LoS (VRM) records with other countries
b. other countries sharing information with the UK - policy/procedure when notified a vehicle stolen in the UK has been recovered abroad
- policy/procedure to be adopted by the country recovering/possessing the vehicle. Should this not be a general (all encompassing, all country but individual to each)policy, I ask to be provided the arrangement insofar as it pertains to Lithuania
- any UK Interpol office contact, phone number and email for liaison about LoS vehicles located abroad
25 April 2024
Freedom of Information Request: FOI2024/03343
We have carried out a thorough search and we have established that the Home Office
does not hold the information which you have requested.
Given the subject matter of your request, INTERPOL may hold the information you are
seeking. If you have not already done so, you may wish to write to them. Contact details
can be found on their website at https://www.interpol.int/.
In relation specifically to point three, and the policy/procedure of another country, you will
need to address this request to the specific country, in this case Lithuania.
25/04/2024 response to the Home Office:
Thank you, but Interpol have, to date, failed to respond.
The NCA, who I understand are the ‘local representation’ of Interpol in the UK have responded that they are not subject to FoIA – failed to provide further assistance despite a request.
There must exist an organisation/party responsible for providing the UK stolen records to others. In turn, the grounds for doing so and the expected assistance. Does the Home Office have so say in this, no involvement?
I understand the United Kingdom, along with other countries, participate in international efforts to tackle vehicle crime, through cooperation with INTERPOL and its Stolen Motor Vehicle (SMV) database. This database collects data on stolen vehicles from member countries and facilitates international cooperation by allowing national police forces to access and share information about stolen vehicles, which can then be traced and recovered globally. https://www.interpol.int/en/Crimes/Vehicle-crime/Our-response
However, it is clearly not working. For over a year I have been struggling to have a Lithuanian court release a vehicle stolen in the UK.
If not the Home Office, who would be responsible for providing the data to Interpol, who would possess the agreement?
26/04/2024, the Home Office responded
- ‘In order to answer your questions in your email, a new FOI is required to be set up so the relevant business area who handled your request can answer the questions in your email.’
16/05/2024
Trying to establish who is responsible for the provision of the UK’s stolen vehicle data to other countries (and receipt of foreign stolen VRM data from abroad) , I find myself referred back to yourselves, the Home Office.
I am informed that the data exchange falls to ‘Prüm’, that the responsibility for the UK’s participation in the Prüm framework lies with the UK government, specifically overseen by the Home Office. The Prüm Decisions involve cross-border police cooperation allowing for the exchange of , by way fo example, vehicle registration data among EU member states.
Regarding my request (above):
I ask to be provided that which is held in relation to the UK’s participation in Prüm
My specific interest relates to Lithuania and information from 01/01/2022 is sought as it appears Lithuania has identified a vehicle, stolen in the UK, as being within their jurisdiction last year suggesting this data was provided by the UK, via Prüm.
The original request is wider and would have captured any historical Prüm agreements and changes. More about the agreement can be found here House of Lords – The United Kingdom’s participation in Prüm – European Union Committee (parliament.uk)
I am not seeking to overburden you noting that the agreement goes back years and it appears the UK’s participation in Prüm is under review and subject to considerable debate.
I understand the UK government has conducted a business and implementation case to assess the benefits of joining Prüm, and a pilot project is expected, with results to be debated in Parliament to decide on future participation – this may have occurred however, I would appreciate being provided the business and implementation case if only as I anticipate this will identify the current methods of stolen VRM data dissemination and direct me to whoever is responsible for providing our records to others, if not the Home Office.
20/05/2024 from the Home Office – Freedom of Information Request: FOI2024/04088
- I can confirm that the UK is a member of INTERPOL, including cooperation to tackle vehicle crime, including through the Stolen Motor Vehicle database. The Home Office is responsible for the UK’s policy towards INTERPOL across Government. All operational matters, including the sharing of police data with international partners, are dealt with through the relevant law enforcement agency. The UK’s INTERPOL desk for operational matters sits in the Joint International Crime Centre hosted in the National Crime Agency.
- The NCA is not listed as a ‘public authority’ in Schedule 1 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, and as such is not obliged to respond to Freedom of Information requests. The NCA is also not listed as a ‘Scottish public authority’ in Schedule 1 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002. Any information from, or relating to, the NCA is subject to an absolute exemption from disclosure by other public authorities by virtue of Section 23 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (as amended by the Crime and Courts Act 2013).
- Consequently, we are unable to provide the further information that you have requested.
- When a notified vehicle in the UK has been recovered abroad, the fact of the recovery is likely to be returned to the relevant local police force investigating the original theft. Each force will have their own procedures for handling these notifications. You may wish to contact the NPCC: npcc.foi.request@npfdu.police.uk.
- As noted in our reply to your previous FOI, we do not hold information on the processes and procedures in other countries.
31/05/2024 from he Home Offoce – Freedom of Information Request: FOI2024/04802
Under section 1(3) of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) we need not comply with a
request unless any further information, reasonably required to enable us to identify and
locate the information, is provided. It is not clear, from your email, exactly what information
you require.
The historical Prüm agreements and subsequent actions of the UK regarding Prüm
participation that you refer to are no longer applicable since the UK left the European
Union in 2020. The exchange of vehicle registration data under the Prüm framework is
now governed solely by the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA). A full copy
of this Agreement can be found online here; Article 537 and Annex 39 covers Vehicle
Registration Data (VRD) exchange:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/608ae0c0d3bf7f0136332887/TS_8.2021_U
K_EU_EAEC_Trade_and_Cooperation_Agreement.pdf. This covers the UK relationship
with all EU Member States, including Lithuania.
However, vehicle registration data (VRD) exchange under the Prüm framework in the TCA
is not currently live in the UK meaning, at present, there is no mechanism in place to
enable the exchange of the information you list in points 1 – 4 of your email via Prüm.
Whilst there is provision for the exchange of this type of data under the UK-EU Trade and
Co-operation Agreement (TCA), Article 540 of this Agreement states that the UK must first
be subject to an evaluation to determine whether the UK can operate this data sharing
arrangement. This evaluation has not yet taken place meaning the UK cannot yet share
this type of data with EU Member States. We have recently notified the EU of our
readiness to be evaluated and expect the evaluation later in 2024. The UK would therefore
not have been in a position to supply vehicle registration data to Lithuania via Prüm in 2022
When VRD data exchange does go live, meaning the UK can share data with EU Member
States and via versa, the type of data that will be shared is as follows: (a) data relating to
owners or operators (including name and address); and (b) data relating to vehicles
(including country of registration and make).
In light of the above and to help us deal with your request properly, I would be grateful if
you can clarify your request to confirm whether you seek any additional information or
documentation regarding Vehicle Registration Data exchange under the Prüm framework
as established by the TCA.
Once you provide this information, we will aim to send you a full response to your request
within twenty working days.
Home Office FoIA case references:
FOI2024/03343
FOI2024/04088
FOI2024/04802