No i am not voting for Independence.

But even without Independence Scotland is already Devolved and is not going to continue to waste money where the UK System is inefficient 

& not fit for purpose and not giving the service the public require.

 

Issuing a Passport in the Likes of Dundee or Glasgow now for the first time, or Going for a Interview for one does not need to be any different in 18 months time.

The Systems work now, and the people are trained in operating them.

It is not Rocket Science.

 

You need your Parents Birth Certificate, your Birth Certificate, you need to know the answers to prove you are who you are.

If you do not have Photo ID now, & many do not have Photo ID, if they are sill on a Paper Driving Licence with no Photo Card,

& have had no Passport, and lots of people have never had a Passport,

so you go through the process you do now, and there is no reason that can not continue, and even be improved.

(It is the UK Government that have been closing Passport Offices, Local DVLA & HMRC Offices.)

 

Getting other Services is less Involved, but still requires your NI Numbers, your Proof of Identity.

None is Rocket Science.

The IT is already in place in Scottish Local Authorities.

& as for Library Card Issues, which are already ties to your other Council Services etc,

You can get a card to pay the Council Tax, Use Council Services, your Travel Card etc is all in one.

 

Many Scottish Council Offices have had that in Operation for over a Decade.

Childrens Free School Meal payment get Credited on to the dinner card, etc.

Scotland & Dundee was there in the very first days of modern computers and is the Capital for Computer Training, and Technology in the UK.

Most of the UK Governments Systems that work came from Scottish Computer & IT Industry, 

the ones that fail are where they sourced from Tony's Croanies.

 

(Many Public Libraries, Reference & University Libraries do not accept Passports as ID for issuing a Library card,

as it is not proof of Address or Current Address, only a Picture & Name, no way to trace you if required, just as a 

Driving Licence is not, and once you have a Library Card, there is a risk you can steal Thousands of pounds of Public Property,

& many do, Students from the UK and elsewhere as an example.)

Edited 28 August, 201411 yr by goneoffSKi

I too have forgotten that my Tax has run out once, went all the way to Birmingham, even had a motorway police car behide me!!

 

It was only a few days later when I was clearing ice of the screen that I realized it was a month out of tax (boy did my stomach turn).

 

So I'd be happy for a DD system so I've less chance of forgetting!!

I take it that with the DD system, it will automatically adjust the rate according to your car & if necessary, stop altogether if you have a car that's exempt from VED.

Miracles need to happen in 1 month then.

 

The DVLA can not even change V5's correctly in lots of cases.

Getting changes of information wrong, clocking up extra former keepers when they make errors etc.

Lost in the Post, lost online.

Currently Delays between the 'MID' (Insurers Database) & DVLA & ANPR on cars current Insurance status etc.

 

So if you have DD for your Registered Vehicle's VED,  its you going to let them know you are now not the Keeper,

You or the Dealer that Registers the new or replacement Vehicle.

 

Lets see how good there IT system is after October, and lets hope it can cope and never crash.

Edited 28 August, 201411 yr by goneoffSKi

Glad to have a clear windscreen, have never liked how the colours clash with the paintwork.

 

As an aside it's another opportunity lost. We were told in the distant past that the visible tax disc proved the car had MOT (if required) and insurance, at least at the time of purchase and before computerised records.

 

Why could they not have abolished it and added a new tax on fuel to cover it. Then you would pay for the road usage depending on how many miles you racked up.

The ANPR system could still be used for the "DVLA MOT" part  and the "Motor Insurance Association" for insurance cover to check these were valid, as these form part of the new online renewal process the data is available to them already.

This hardly seems like a saving in administration considering what could have been done.

Surely it is time for car Registration Plate changes or Bar Codes & Bar Code Readers..

(Fleet vehicles use the system & have for years.)

 

A Permit Issued to a Person for each Vehicle they Register, & possibly drive,

A sticker for on new Designed  Registration Plates. (Number Plate).  showing valid VED , Insurance & Valid MOT.

Or at the Filler Cap.

 

The Government flew the Kite about Barcodes at Filling Stations, and Readers.

That was suggested as how they could identify Uninsured and non legal vehicles, and get them off the road by refusing them fuel.

Or just triggering ANPR type actions.

(you can only keep filling up with fuel cans for so long, before you get feed up of that.)

 

So Just Issue Stickers for next to the Fuel Filler.

Each vehicle filling up will be registered to someone,  they know fuel use, mileage covered, the MOT will know the Emissions soon once they start 

doing OBD Plug ins from 3 years after 2015 Euro 6 Emissions Introduction.

They will know if vehicles are being Maintained and meeting the Emission & Noise Requirements from the EU by reading the ECU.

On this ANPR thing - what I fail to understand is why it's even required to use ANPR to check plates for tax.

 

Surely very easy to have an automatic check of DVLA/Government database/MID set up and any car that is registered and is not sorned and does not have valid tax or insurance just gets an auto fine if still outstanding after a month or so? This isn't 1900....

They have that system in operation now.

You get your Penalty through the post. (It is not a Fine.)

Or a Knock on the Door, or even the Vehicle Clamped / Seized.

Depends which of the 4 Countries in the UK You are in, Because Scots Law is Different, & many Grey Areas for the DVLA, Police & Courts.

 

But ANPR is being introduced for much more than the DVLA and Revenue Gathering,

it is for Crime & Terrorist Fighting and the Treasury / HMRC Information gathering.

So really Revenue Gathering in the end. & traceability of Vehicles on UK Roads.

It already Tracks HGV's etc coming into Scotland from Ports like from Northern Ireland.

 

That happened many Years ago in Scotland in the fight against Terrorism.

& Customs & Excise (HMRC) are very interested in Transport Movements.

On this ANPR thing - what I fail to understand is why it's even required to use ANPR to check plates for tax.

 

Surely very easy to have an automatic check of DVLA/Government database/MID set up and any car that is registered and is not sorned and does not have valid tax or insurance just gets an auto fine if still outstanding after a month or so? This isn't 1900....

That does happen, but people SORN cars and continue to drive them, or don't even register them. That's when you need ANPR.

I am still not impressed with the interest charged for paying by direct debit. Paying by direct debit is paying your VED in real time and still a month in advance, not after the fact. If it was £XX per month but a discount for paying in advance such as 12 months that would be different. But why I should have to pay interest to the government because I choose not to advance them the entire amount is utterly wrong! So I shall continue to pay 12 months at a time on pure principle and nothing else! With these changes also comes near 1000 job loses and millions in other savings like the running costs of 90+ local offices etc, on top of that I am expected to pay more while serving myself and ideally expected to do so online with equipment and ISP which I also pay for. Not to fear VED rates will go up on their next review shortly anyway regardless of all that has been saved. 

Isn't that the same as the current system where you are charged extra for not paying it in one go?

Yep - in fact the charge/penalty for paying by DD is quite a lot less than the current charge/penalty for buying 6 months rather than 12 and by a fair margin.

I assume DD won't be available on the £20 or £30 bands. You can't pay in 6 month chunks at the mo, so I doubt they'll want to collect two quid at a time.

I take it that with the DD system, it will automatically adjust the rate according to your car & if necessary, stop altogether if you have a car that's exempt from VED.

You've got to be joking! A government system that would actually work in a logical manner? Not in my life time!

 

It will up the payments whenever it feels like it, continue to charge you even if there is not requirement and make claiming a refund for overpayment almost impossible.

 

That's the British way!

cue the millions of topics on how to remove sticky residue from the tax disc holder removal.

Isn't the whole basis of VED changing?

Rather than a tax on the vehicle, is it now a tax on vehicle ownership?

Probably easier to slip changes in revenue levels through in the Budget.

cue the millions of topics on how to remove sticky residue from the tax disc holder removal.

Well, I'll be the first----'Sticky Stuff Remover'    releases all sorts of glue.

Insurance disks would have made a lot of sense 20 years ago, but with ANPR being so common now it's much easier to use that to check everything in one go in seconds.

I agree. The problem with relying on any sort of paper disc in the window nowadays is that with the proliferation of colour laser printers, scanners, photoshop etc the dishonest simply run a forgery off on their PC in five minutes. It is far better to check details against a central database than just rely on a piece of paper that may or may not be genuine.

Even 20-odd years ago an acquaintance of mine was known for 'borrowing' other people's tax discs, taking them down to the library b&w photocopier then colouring in the copy in the appropriate colour with a felt tip and using it in his own car......

AFAIK there is no additional charge for direct debit option, only the penalty for paying for 6 months.

And I've also heard that the month won't be fixed? So buy your tax on 20th,and month 1 will end on the following 19th.

Si perhaps they'll be able to work out refunds to the day now?

5% surcharge for monthly. 10% for six monthly as now.

Spoke to a traffic warden in town today as he was taking a picture of a tax disc and asked him what they'll do from 1st October. He said 'no idea, sir, we've not even had anything from above yet so whether we have to fill out more stuff in the office I couldn't tell you'.

 

Seems like the LA's are geared up as normal then lol

There are so few anpr machines in rural areas that you could probably run a vehicle for years without coming across one and as for police cars with them well they are like snow leopards never seen in many areas, this system is all about money making the crims will love it clone the plates and hey presto it will always show up a clean car as long as the original is all in order and then you can drive anywhere and they will,as long as they don't have a accident or get pulled for something stupid this lack of on sight proof will lead to large tax avoidance. I agree with above it should have been on fuel,or as in other eu countries part of the number plate.

ANPR camera or Reader installation is simple.  Just on the First & Last Lamp Posts in Villages, Towns etc.   Mobile Phone Technology, Wifi, Digital what ever.

 

There are cameras for Traffic Scotland monitoring Roads in the most rural of routes, and Average Speed Cameras now on Trunk Roads.

The English Police Forces leave vehicles coming North into Scotland often until the Cameras & Readers in Scotland pick them up.

Drug Runners and the likes.

They can follow the vehicles journey from the Border right up the East, West or Central Routes.

 

DVLA are pretty much going to be using Mobile ANPR vans in Areas where there is no Fixed Cameras or Readers.

& as i said before, they can be on any Vehicles, 

G4S Electric / Gas Meter Readers Cars, Royal Mail or Yodel vans.

  I am sure there are companies that will take a Contract to have Cameras on Vans & a Mobile Sender Unit.  ie Mobile Phone.

 

http://trafficscotland.org/livetrafficcameras

http://trafficscotland.org/map

Edited 28 August, 201411 yr by goneoffSKi

ANPR camera or Reader installation is simple. Just on the First & Last Lam Posts in Villages, Towns etc. Mobile Phone Technology, Wifi, Digital what ever.

Having been involved in installing telemetry systems in rural areas I wish it was that simple. And that's shovelling small amounts of data where a few days delay isn't generally a big issue.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

We do not even have TV or Radio Reception or Broadband in much of Scotland so i know well enough.

In parts of the West Coast you watch TV from Northern Ireland because you can not get Scottish or UK Channels, Still with Digital.

 

But this Con / Dem government are hot on Super Fast Broadband, so lets see what technology we get.

 

Its funny, there is communication with Space, 

& we can Track Whales, Salmon, Birds in Flights with a sender fitted traveling around the worlds oceans,

but Phone Communications in the UK is Sharn.

Edited 28 August, 201411 yr by goneoffSKi