Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to increase the digitisation of the process for applying for driving licences through the DVLA.

The quickest and easiest way to transact with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is by using its extensive suite of online services. There are no delays in successful online applications and customers should receive their documents within a few days.

The DVLA is continuing to expand its driver application online services over the next year. This will allow customers to upload their own photograph and signature instead of using one from a UK passport, as the current service requires. The DVLA is also working with the Home Office to create an electronic link to its View and prove your immigration status service. This will allow those with a non-UK passport to be authenticated online and use the DVLA online application service.

Drivers with diabetes, epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, a visual impairment, a sleep condition or a heart condition are also able to renew their licence online.

The DVLA has also recently introduced a simplified licence renewal process for drivers with epilepsy and multiple sclerosis and is piloting this for some mental health conditions. This renewal process has significantly reduced the need for the DVLA to seek further information from medical professionals and enabled more licensing decisions to be made based on the information provided by the driver. The DVLA is looking at adding more medical conditions to this new process.