The government has announced that all car owners returning a previously written-off vehicle to the roads will no longer be required to apply for a Vehicle Identity Check (VIC).

Introduced in 2003 as a means of tackling low-level vehicle theft, the VIC system was designed to clamp down on the practice of swapping the identity of cars no longer economical to repair with a stolen vehicle of a similar make and model.

However, during the last 12 years there have been more than one million VIC applications processed and only a handful of cases in which vehicle switching was identified.

The decision to bring VIC to an end has therefore now been taken, making the process of returning repairable written-off vehicles to the road that much easier and cheaper for car owners.

Transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin said: "The government is on the side of the honest motorist, which is why we are scrapping this scheme which flies in the face of common sense and creates an unnecessary burden. It will save motorists and businesses millions every year."

During the past decade, the government has worked with insurers to produce advice for all anyone planning the purchase of a used vehicle and it is believed this improved guidance is now strong enough to warrant the scrapping of VIC as a consumer safety measure.

Indeed, the Department for Transport estimates that the end of VIC will mean savings of up to £9.7 million per year for individual motorists and up to £4.8 million in costs for UK firms.