Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions his Department has held with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) on (a) the time frames from the (i) postage of a notification to (ii) implementation of a driving license revocation and (b) whether the DVLA has made an assessment of the potential merits of using guaranteed delivery day postage systems for such revocation notifications.

When the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) determines that a driving licence should be revoked for medical reasons, the law requires that the notice of revocation must be served in writing to the licence holder. The letter notifying the individual of the revocation is sent by first class post and the licence is revoked either one or two working days after the letter is sent, depending on the time the letter is dispatched.

The Royal Mail’s current service aim is to deliver over 90 per cent of first class post by the next working day, including Saturdays. The DVLA already makes allowances for Bank Holidays and non-working days.

The DVLA has considered other guaranteed delivery day postage systems. However, these require someone to be at the address and to sign for the item which is not always possible. Sending these letters by first class post ensures delivery is made irrespective of whether anyone is available to receive the letter.