Abandoned vehicles
Case reference FOI2026/01323
Received 29 June 2026
Published 27 July 2026
Request
I am writing to make a request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and, where applicable, the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (EIR).
I ask that you consider this request under whichever regime is most appropriate, given that some of the information requested may relate to environmental matters including the management of waste vehicles under the Refuse Disposal (Amenity) Act 1978.
Please provide the following information relating to abandoned vehicles:
1. The total number of reports of abandoned vehicles received by the council for each of the last seven financial years (2019/20, 2020/21, 2021/22, 2022/23, 2023/24, 2024/25, 2025/26).
2. The total expenditure incurred by the council in the removal, storage or disposal of abandoned vehicles for each of the same seven financial years.
3. Whether the council has a contract in place with a private provider for the removal of abandoned vehicles.
If so, please provide:
a) The name of the contractor.
b) The annual payment made to that contractor for each of the last seven financial years.
c) The start and end date of the current contract.
4. The specific statutory powers used by the council to authorise the removal of abandoned vehicles (for example, the Refuse Disposal (Amenity) Act 1978, the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, or other legislation).
5. Whether the council is a registered DVLA Power Partner for the purpose of accessing vehicle keeper data in connection with abandoned vehicle enforcement or untaxed vehicles.
6. For each of the last seven financial years, the average and maximum number of days elapsed between an initial report of an abandoned vehicle being received and the vehicle being removed or the case being closed.
7. For each of the last seven financial years:
a) The number of reported vehicles that were found to be untaxed (no valid Vehicle Excise Duty) at the time of inspection.
b) The number of reports that were assessed and subsequently closed on the basis that the vehicle did not meet the criteria to be classed as abandoned.
Response
Thank you for your request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000
Please find the answers to your queries below:
I am writing to make a request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and, where applicable, the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (EIR).
I ask that you consider this request under whichever regime is most appropriate, given that some of the information requested may relate to environmental matters including the management of waste vehicles under the Refuse Disposal (Amenity) Act 1978.
Please provide the following information relating to abandoned vehicles:
1. The total number of reports of abandoned vehicles received by the council for each of the last seven financial years (2019/20, 2020/21, 2021/22, 2022/23, 2023/24, 2024/25, 2025/26).
All Local Authorities submit statutory returns via Fly Capture, which includes information on abandoned vehicles. The details of which are collated at the following website:
https://www.data.gov.uk/dataset/0e0c12d8-24f6-461f-b4bc-f6d6a5bf2de5/waste-data-flow
Please go to the second report listed per year and sort by Local Authority to obtain this information.
2. The total expenditure incurred by the council in the removal, storage or disposal of abandoned vehicles for each of the same seven financial years.
2020/21 £350
2021/22 £2,275
2022/23 £1,345
2023/24 £600
2024/25 £600
2025/26 £900
3. Whether the council has a contract in place with a private provider for the removal of abandoned vehicles.
If so, please provide:
a) The name of the contractor.
b) The annual payment made to that contractor for each of the last seven financial years.
c) The start and end date of the current contract.
a & c – Aldershot Car and Metal is the Council’s contractor. This information is available on our Contract’s Register on the following website:
https://www.guildford.gov.uk/DoingbusinesswithGBC
b. In terms of payments made to them – this information can also be found online via our expenditure data available via the following website:
https://www.guildford.gov.uk/article/25083/Annual-spending-data (payments made to ‘Car and Metal Recycles Ltd’).
As such, the information you require can be found from publicly available sources and consequentially under Section 21 of the Act, we are not required to provide information in response to a request if it is already reasonably accessible.
4. The specific statutory powers used by the council to authorise the removal of abandoned vehicles (for example, the Refuse Disposal (Amenity) Act 1978, the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, or other legislation).
Refuse Disposal (Amenity) Act 1978.
5. Whether the council is a registered DVLA Power Partner for the purpose of accessing vehicle keeper data in connection with abandoned vehicle enforcement or untaxed vehicles.
No.
6. For each of the last seven financial years, the average and maximum number of days elapsed between an initial report of an abandoned vehicle being received and the vehicle being removed or the case being closed.
We do not hold this information.
7. For each of the last seven financial years:
a) The number of reported vehicles that were found to be untaxed (no valid Vehicle Excise Duty) at the time of inspection.
We do not hold this information.
b) The number of reports that were assessed and subsequently closed on the basis that the vehicle did not meet the criteria to be classed as abandoned.
June 2021 to March 2022 – 28
June 2022 to March 2023 – 71
June 2023 to March 2024 – 53
June 2024 to March 2025 – 41
June 2025 to March 2026 – 11
Yours sincerely,
FOI Team
Guildford Borough Council
Documents
This is Guildford Council's response to a freedom of information (FOI) or environmental information regulations (EIR) request.
You can browse our other responses or make a new FOI request.