Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average processing time was for the renewal of driving licences where a medical consideration was made in (a) 2019, (b) 2020 and (c) 2021.

The average processing time to make a medical licensing decision in the last three financial years is shown in the table below.

To improve the length of time taken to process medical licensing applications, the DVLA has recruited additional staff. This includes increasing the number of in-house doctors it employs and temporary administrative staff. Nurse caseworkers are being utilised to deal with specific conditions. The DVLA is also working with the relevant bodies to explore ways of reducing the time taken to receive the information needed to make licensing decisions.

The DVLA has also recently trialed a simplified renewal process for some medical conditions. This has significantly reduced the turnaround times for some drivers.

Where possible the DVLA will refer specific medical conditions to its in-house doctors in the first instance, to make a licensing decision using the information held.