Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the accessibility of services provided by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency for disabled people who are unable to communicate by telephone; and whether she will take steps to ensure that alternative communication routes, including written and accessible digital channels, are made available and responded to within reasonable timescales.

Information on the number of formal complaints relating to accessibility or communication barriers at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) over the last three years is not readily available.

The DVLA offers a variety of reasonable adjustments to customers which can range from simple adjustments such as providing correspondence on coloured paper or in large print, to providing a ‘Video Relay Service’ for British Sign Language users who want to contact the DVLA via telephone.

As part of fulfilling its obligations under the Equality Act 2010, the DVLA’s contact centre agents are trained to assist customers who may require reasonable adjustments. Operating instructions and knowledge articles help staff to ensure they follow the correct processes to identify the most suitable form of support for the customer, depending on their individual needs.

For customers who do not want or are unable to use the telephone, a webform service is also available to customers 24/7. The DVLA is also planning to launch a WhatsApp service.

Although the DVLA continues to develop its digital channels to improve customer service and support offerings, it recognises not all customers want or are able to transact digitally and provides paper application facilities as appropriate.