Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency: Coronavirus

(asked on 3rd September 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the performance of the DVLA since April 2020.


Answered by
Rachel Maclean Portrait
Rachel Maclean
This question was answered on 10th September 2020

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) has a wide range of services available online which offer the quickest and easiest way to transact with the DVLA. These online services have worked well and as normal throughout the pandemic with more than 36 million online driver and vehicle transactions processed since March. The majority of DVLA’s customer interactions are digital or automated allowing businesses and motorists to transact with DVLA at a time and place that suits them.

The DVLA’s 6,000 staff are predominantly based in one office in Swansea and to adhere to social distancing requirements there has been a greatly reduced number of staff on-site at any one time. As a result, there have been delays in dealing with paper applications that have been posted to the DVLA as these have to be dealt with in person. The DVLA has implemented measures to reconfigure its office space to accommodate more operational staff within the two metre social distancing requirements in Wales and ensure it remains covid secure.

The DVLA has also accelerated the development of new online services to further reduce paper applications and has launched a publicity campaign to encourage the use of online services.

In June, the DVLA launched a new service allowing vehicle keepers to change their address online. This service was developed and introduced at pace in response to the pandemic and has been very successful with more than 213,000 change of address transactions completed online by the end of August. Further digital service enhancements are underway. Ministers are regularly briefed on the latest position as it relates to the DVLA’s services.

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