Hi SteveThis seems to be a very grey area as you point out
All the things that are happening at the moment like the Insurance Databases and MOT Computerisation are all part of the big brother plan for the police to be able to check any vehicle on the road to see if it has a current MOT, valid insurance and taxed.
With number plate recognition, they only have to drive behind any vehicle, and they can tell virtualy instantly if the car is totaly legal, the link Derek posted seems to point out that the MOT computerisation is holding all this up
The grey area seems to be if you have a car in for 12 plus days, but will not be driven on the road, then why do we have to register that vehicle.......seems like more red tape heaped on the motor trader again!
Lets hope all this technology is put to good use, by giving the police the powers to remove any vehicle from our roads that does not have any insurance, mot or tax
Peter