Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what level of telephone service was available recently at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency for motorists who wished to prove their credentials in order to hire cars following recent changes in policy.

To prepare for the abolition of the paper counterpart to the photocard driving licence, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) increased the number of telephone lines by 50% and staffing levels by 28%.

This has successfully addressed the 18% increase in the number of calls received. In the week commencing 8 June, the DVLA answered all calls to the dedicated local rate telephone service to check driving licence details, within one minute 55 seconds.