Asked by: Anna McMorrin (Labour - Cardiff North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average length of time is between receiving documentation of a medical decision to restore a driver's licence and retuning the licence to the driver; and what steps he is taking to improve correspondence in that process.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) receives around 60,000 items of mail every day and industrial action by members of the Public and Commercial Services union has led to delays for customers. The DVLA has also 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 has introduced additional online services and recruited more staff. The DVLA is urgently securing extra office space to house more staff to help reduce waiting times while providing future resilience and business continuity.
The DVLA understands the impact that delays can have on people’s everyday lives and is working as quickly as possible to process paper applications and return people’s documentation to them.
The DVLA recognises the effect that the delays are having on drivers who have been revoked on medical grounds and additional resource is being utilised to process cases as quickly as possible.
However, DVLA is often reliant on receiving information from medical professionals to ensure drivers can meet the required medical standards which can add to delays.
The DVLA deals with around 750,000 medical driver licensing cases each year. The length of time taken to deal with an application depends on the medical condition(s) involved and whether further information is required from medical professionals. Although doctors play an important role in the driver licensing process, the DVLA is responsible for considering the medical information supplied in the context of safe driving and deciding whether a licence can be issued.
When a decision has been taken to issue a driving licence, the DVLA writes to the applicant to inform them that they should receive the licence within ten working days.
Asked by: Anna McMorrin (Labour - Cardiff North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the impact of the DVLA casework backlog on the return of licences revoked on medical grounds; and what steps he is taking to improve the efficiency of DVLA.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) receives around 60,000 items of mail every day and industrial action by members of the Public and Commercial Services union has led to delays for customers. The DVLA has also 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 has introduced additional online services and recruited more staff. The DVLA is urgently securing extra office space to house more staff to help reduce waiting times while providing future resilience and business continuity.
The DVLA understands the impact that delays can have on people’s everyday lives and is working as quickly as possible to process paper applications and return people’s documentation to them.
The DVLA recognises the effect that the delays are having on drivers who have been revoked on medical grounds and additional resource is being utilised to process cases as quickly as possible.
However, DVLA is often reliant on receiving information from medical professionals to ensure drivers can meet the required medical standards which can add to delays.
The DVLA deals with around 750,000 medical driver licensing cases each year. The length of time taken to deal with an application depends on the medical condition(s) involved and whether further information is required from medical professionals. Although doctors play an important role in the driver licensing process, the DVLA is responsible for considering the medical information supplied in the context of safe driving and deciding whether a licence can be issued.
When a decision has been taken to issue a driving licence, the DVLA writes to the applicant to inform them that they should receive the licence within ten working days.
Asked by: Greg Clark (Conservative - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to help tackle the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency’s delays in dealing with applications arising from working from home, industrial action and recent increases in demand.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing staff who are working from home are mainly from support areas. These staff are fully productive and are not contributing to delays. Staff working from home is in line with Welsh Government guidance and allows the DVLA to maximise office space for operational staff processing paper applications as these roles cannot be carried out remotely.
The quickest and easiest way to make an application to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (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. The DVLA receives around 60,000 items of mail every day and industrial action by members of the Public and Commercial Services union has led to delays for customers. The DVLA has also been working with a significantly reduced number of staff on site to ensure social distancing in line with Welsh Government requirements.
The DVLA has introduced additional online services and is urgently securing extra office space to house more staff. This will help reduce waiting times while providing future resilience and business continuity.
The DVLA understands the impact that delays can have on people’s everyday lives and is working to process paper applications as quickly as possible.
Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham, Yardley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent steps he is taking to process the backlog of applications at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The quickest and easiest way to make an application to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (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. The DVLA receives around 60,000 items of mail every day and industrial action by members of the Public and Commercial Services union has led to delays for customers. 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 has introduced additional online services and recruited additional staff. The DVLA is urgently securing extra office space to house more staff as surge capacity accommodation and resource to help reduce waiting times while providing future resilience and business continuity.
The DVLA understands the impact that delays can have on people’s everyday lives and is working as quickly as possible to process paper applications and return people’s documentation to them.
Asked by: Greg Clark (Conservative - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 22 September 2021 to Question 50953 on Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency: Standards, what progress his Department has made in helping to improve the efficiency of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing staff who are working from home are mainly from support areas. These staff are fully productive and are not contributing to delays. Staff working from home is in line with Welsh Government guidance and allows the DVLA to maximise office space for operational staff processing paper applications as these roles cannot be carried out remotely.
The quickest and easiest way to make an application to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (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. The DVLA receives around 60,000 items of mail every day and industrial action by members of the Public and Commercial Services union has led to delays for customers. The DVLA has also been working with a significantly reduced number of staff on site to ensure social distancing in line with Welsh Government requirements.
The DVLA has introduced additional online services and is urgently securing extra office space to house more staff. This will help reduce waiting times while providing future resilience and business continuity.
The DVLA understands the impact that delays can have on people’s everyday lives and is working to process paper applications as quickly as possible.
Asked by: David Jones (Conservative - Clwyd West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to improve the efficiency of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
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.
Asked by: David Jones (Conservative - Clwyd West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of staff at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing agency are working from home.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
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.
Asked by: David Jones (Conservative - Clwyd West)
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
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.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Hemsworth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the number of people waiting for their driving licence to be renewed by the DVLA; and what that estimate was for each of the last five years.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA)’s online services are the quickest and easiest way to apply for a driving licence. There are no delays in successful online applications and customers should receive their driving licence within a few days. However, many people still choose or have to make a paper application for a driving licence. The DVLA receives around 60,000 items of mail every day which must be dealt with in person. Industrial action by members of the Public and Commercial Services union, along with having fewer staff on site to ensure social distancing in line with Welsh Government guidelines, has led to delays for customers who make paper applications.
There are currently around 638,000 paper applications for a driving licence awaiting processing. This includes those applying for a driving licence for the first time and those renewing an existing licence. It should be noted that the large majority of applicants renewing an existing licence will be able to continue driving while their application is being processed. Information for each of the last five years is not available.
The DVLA continues to look into opportunities to reduce the backlog and has been developing additional new online services and recruiting additional staff. The DVLA is urgently exploring the possibility of securing extra office space to house more staff to help reduce backlogs.
Asked by: Angela Crawley (Scottish National Party - Lanark and Hamilton East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with the PCS union on ensuring that DVLA staff have a covid-secure working environment.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Discussions between the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) and the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) about staff safety in relation to Covid-19 began before the initial lockdown was announced and have been ongoing throughout. The Department for Transport has also been involved in those discussions where appropriate.
Staff safety remains an absolute priority for the department and the DVLA and all appropriate measures have been put in place.
The PCS has made clear that our proposals are acceptable in terms of addressing their staff safety concerns.