Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reason there are delays in the reissuing of driving licences by the DVLA to (a) people aged over 70 and (b) in cases where licences have been suspended for health reasons which are preventing those people from driving.

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency’s (DVLA) online services, including renewals for drivers over 70 are available and have continued to operate as normal throughout the pandemic.

DVLA is currently working with reduced staff on its site in Swansea to meet social distancing requirements. Paper applications are therefore taking longer to process as they must be dealt with in person.

As healthcare professionals are rightly focused on their response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the DVLA is experiencing delays where information is needed from medical professionals in order to make a licensing decision where a driver has declared a medical condition.