Asked by: Fay Jones (Conservative - Brecon and Radnorshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to improve accessibility of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency to people seeking to use its services.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) places a strong focus on accessibility when developing its services, ensuring that they work for those who have specific needs or use assistive technology. The DVLA’s user research team conducts usability testing of new services and ensures that 20 per cent of participants with an accessibility need or a medical condition take part in the usability testing to ensure the service meets the needs of all users.
The DVLA also uses a third-party supplier to provide independent usability/user testing and technology audits of live and prototype DVLA web services against the relevant accessibility guidelines. The DVLA aims for each service to be tested at least once during the development cycle to ensure recommendations can be assessed and implemented.
Asked by: Fay Jones (Conservative - Brecon and Radnorshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the importance of advertising Traffic Regulation Orders in local newspapers to (a) the elderly and vulnerable, (b) other local residents and (c) local media organisations.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The most recent assessments we have made about Traffic Regulation Orders are in two reports. The first discovery research report was published in 2019 and laid the foundations for the second report available here:
Each of these reports considered the impacts on different groups of potential improvements to the legislative process.
The Department plans to consult on proposed reforms to Traffic Regulation Orders more generally later in 2021. An Impact Assessment will accompany this consultation.
Asked by: Fay Jones (Conservative - Brecon and Radnorshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to tackle the covid-19 outbreak at the DVLA office in Swansea.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
On 22 February, there were three cases of Covid across the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA)’s workforce of more than 6,000 staff.
Since January, more than 5,000 lateral flow tests have been carried out with DVLA contact centre staff, with no positive results identified. This scheme is currently being extended to other DVLA staff working across its estate undertaking work which cannot be done from home.
All staff whose jobs can be done remotely are working from home, with now more than 2,000 staff doing so exclusively. Extensive safety measures have been put in place across the DVLA’s sites. These include enhanced cleaning, social distancing leasing an additional building, perspex screens installed, floors divided into zones with no mixing within zones, one-way systems introduced, and communal areas closed.
The DVLA has made significant investment in making its estate Covid-secure, working closely with Public Health Wales, Swansea Council’s Environmental Health team and the trade union. Swansea Bay University Health Board has confirmed a high level of compliance with control measures and did not identify any additional concerns over the control regime in place.
Throughout the pandemic, the DVLA has implemented Welsh Government legislative requirements and advice fully, including the workplace guidance for offices and contact centres. The organisations mentioned work closely with the DVLA and regularly review the measures in place. When advice is revised, it is acted upon and changes made quickly.
Asked by: Fay Jones (Conservative - Brecon and Radnorshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 22 January 2021 to Question 140276 on Driving Tests: Coronavirus, if he provide details of the research suggesting an extension to the expiry dates of driving theory certificates would negatively impact on hazard perception skills.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
Research studies in the UK, notably those conducted by the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL), have separately proven that both on-road experience and hazard perception skills reduce crash risk. They also evidence that hazard perception is related to experience.
Other TRL research on independent driving also highlights the assumption that the learner driver is exposed to tasks that are typical of post-test driving as part of their pre-test learning.
Those with theory test certificates expiring may have taken their test in early 2019. Since then, their on road practical experience will have been significantly curtailed during recent lockdowns. Therefore, whilst a short extension would allow more on-road experience it does not ensure that the learner will have had sufficient experience, or been sufficiently exposed to driving tasks, to be able to drive safely at the critical point that they drive independently for the first time.
Asked by: Fay Jones (Conservative - Brecon and Radnorshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of granting an extension to the expiry dates of driving theory certificates during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The maximum duration of two years between passing the theory test and a subsequent practical test is in place for road safety reasons; to ensure that a candidate’s knowledge is current. This validity period is set in legislation and the Government has no current plans to lay further legislation to extend it.
It is important that road safety knowledge and hazard perception skills are up to date at the critical point that they drive unsupervised for the first time. Those with theory test certificates expiring may have taken their test in early 2019. Since then, their lessons and practice sessions will have been significantly curtailed during recent lockdowns and it is likely that their knowledge base will have diminished. Research suggests that this would be particularly harmful for hazard perception skills, a key factor in road safety.
Ensuring new drivers have current relevant knowledge and skills is a vital part of the training of new drivers, who are disproportionality represented in casualty statistics. Taking all this into consideration, the decision has been made not to extend theory test certificates and learners will need to pass another theory test if their certificate expires.
Asked by: Fay Jones (Conservative - Brecon and Radnorshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to improve waiting times at the DVLA.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) has a range of services available online offering quick and easy ways of transacting. The DVLA’s online services have worked well and as normal throughout the pandemic. Between March and the end of August, the DVLA has issued nearly seven million registration certificates and three and a half million driving licences.
The DVLA’s 6,000 staff are largely based at a single site in Swansea and to adhere to Welsh social distancing requirements the number of staff onsite had been greatly reduced. This impacted on the time taken to process applications sent by post as these have to be dealt with in person. The DVLA has reconfigured its accommodation to maximise staff numbers whilst meeting the requirement in Wales to maintain the two-metre social distancing and ensure it remains Covid secure.
Drivers with a licence that expires between 1 February and 31 December 2020 have been given an automatic extension from the date of expiry. This means they will not need to renew their entitlement to drive until 11 months after the original expiry date.
The DVLA has also accelerated the development of additional online services to further reduce paper applications and supported their take up through a publicity campaign.
Asked by: Fay Jones (Conservative - Brecon and Radnorshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to improve the accessibility of the DVLA to people seeking to use its services.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) has a range of services available online offering quick and easy ways of transacting. The DVLA’s online services have worked well and as normal throughout the pandemic. Between March and the end of August, the DVLA has issued nearly seven million registration certificates and three and a half million driving licences.
The DVLA’s 6,000 staff are largely based at a single site in Swansea and to adhere to Welsh social distancing requirements the number of staff onsite had been greatly reduced. This impacted on the time taken to process applications sent by post as these have to be dealt with in person. The DVLA has reconfigured its accommodation to maximise staff numbers whilst meeting the requirement in Wales to maintain the two-metre social distancing and ensure it remains Covid secure.
Drivers with a licence that expires between 1 February and 31 December 2020 have been given an automatic extension from the date of expiry. This means they will not need to renew their entitlement to drive until 11 months after the original expiry date.
The DVLA has also accelerated the development of additional online services to further reduce paper applications and supported their take up through a publicity campaign.
Asked by: Fay Jones (Conservative - Brecon and Radnorshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions his Department has had about the role hydrogen passenger vehicles can play as part of the Transport Decarbonisation Plan.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
Ministers and officials are engaging extensively with UK hydrogen stakeholders including through the Net Zero Transport Board, our strategic priority workshops that ran through July and August and involved over 700 key stakeholders, as well as a number of Ministerial and official roundtables and bi-laterals meetings as we develop the Transport Decarbonisation Plan. We are committed to exploring all the options for green hydrogen across freight, buses, trains, maritime and aviation and ensuring the UK can leads the world in its deployment and use in transport applications.
Asked by: Fay Jones (Conservative - Brecon and Radnorshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the role hydrogen passenger vehicles can play in decarbonising transport.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
In 2018, the Department for Transport published the outputs of the Transport Energy Model. The model provides an assessment of the relative environmental impacts of a range of fuel and powertrain options for road vehicles over the period to 2050, including hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.