Annual SORN declarations scrapped

Motorcyclists with bikes kept off-road will no longer have to fill in a SORN declaration form every year following a Government announcement.

Owners will only have to fill in a Statutory Off-Road Notification once instead of annually.

The need for a paper licence counterpart is also to be scrapped from 2015 in changes aimed at cutting red tape for motorists.

Additional proposals include removing the need for motorists to hold an insurance certificate and abolishing the requirement of proof of insurance when applying for road tax.

It will allow more people to tax vehicles online by relying on automatic insurance database checks.

Transport Secretary Justine Greening said: “Motorists shouldn’t have to keep numerous bits of paper just to prove they can drive and have bought insurance – we live in a digital age and we need to embrace that.

“Reducing the number of rules and regulations in our life is absolutely vital to removing barriers to economic growth and increasing individual freedoms. This whole process just proves that there’s so much sitting on our statute books that at the very least needs a good spring clean or can be scrapped entirely.”