Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency: Correspondence

(asked on 17th September 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the extent of correspondence awaiting reply by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency in terms by (a) volume and (b) estimated waiting time for a substantive response.


Answered by
Trudy Harrison Portrait
Trudy Harrison
This question was answered on 22nd September 2021

Of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA)’s total workforce of more than 6,000, just under 35 per cent are working from home. The staff working from home are mainly from support areas, including Human Resources, Commercials, Finance, Policy and Communications. Most operational staff work on site in order to process the 60,000 items of mail the DVLA receives daily which must be dealt with in person.

Information on the amount of correspondence awaiting a substantive response is not available. The DVLA is working hard to process applications and answer correspondence as quickly as possible. The quickest and easiest way to make an application to the 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.

However, many people still choose or have to make a paper application. Industrial action by members of the Public and Commercial Services union has led to delays in dealing with paper applications. Throughout the pandemic the DVLA has been working with a significantly reduced number of staff on site to ensure social distancing in line with Welsh Government requirements. The current increased demand for the DVLA’s services has also contributed to delays with paper applications.

The DVLA continues to explore opportunities to improve the time taken to deal with paper applications and has been developing additional new online services and recruiting additional staff. The DVLA is looking to secure extra office space to accommodate more staff as surge capacity accommodation and resource to help reduce backlogs while providing future resilience and business continuity.

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