Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many complaints her Department has received regarding the accessibility and usability of the DVLA’s online system for renewing driving licenses for people age 70 and over since its introduction; and what steps she is taking to ensure that people with limited digital skills are able to access the service.

The information requested is not readily available and can only be extracted at disproportionate cost. To extract this information would require a manual interrogation of all the complaints made about a driving licence to determine whether it related to accessibility and/or useability of the DVLA’s online system, as well as considering the age of the writer.

The DVLA online services currently adhere to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.1) and work is underway to bring all services to WCAG 2.2 level AA standard. These are an internationally recognised set of recommendations to ensure services are accessible to users with a range of needs including visual, hearing, mobility and cognitive.

The DVLA tests services with users who have a wide range of accessibility needs and levels of digital confidence independent service assessments also carried out ahead of any new service being launched.

The DVLA recognises that not all customers can or want to access online services. Customers can contact the DVLA by telephone, or in writing and paper application facilities are also available.

The DVLA welcomes and reviews user feedback through its published accessibility statements to support continuous improvements of its online services.