Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency has made of the potential impact of the new online medical services portal on people with medical conditions who are digitally excluded; and what alternative support is available to those unable to use online services.

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency’s (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 status to attain full compliance with the most recent accessibility requirements. These are an internationally recognised set of recommendations to ensure services are accessible to everyone, including users with impairments to their, vision, hearing, mobility and/or thinking/understanding.

As part of service development, the DVLA tests services with users who have a wide range of accessibility needs and uses a digital inclusion scale to ensure testing covers of varying skill and confidence levels. Ahead of any new service being launched, a service assessment is also conducted by independent panel members.

While digital services are increasingly available, the DVLA recognises that not all customers can or want to access services online or via a mobile device. Customers can contact the DVLA by telephone, or in writing in these circumstances and paper application facilities continue to be available.

The DVLA also offers a variety of reasonable adjustments to support customers, ranging 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.