Closed petition Inquiry into the DVLA’s performance during the Covid-19 pandemic
In my view the DVLA are not fit-for-purpose. An inquiry needs to be held into their performance during the pandemic. This should lead to more efficient customer service, treatment of those with medical issues, and more.
More details
Delays such as a 6 month wait for a medical restricted licence to be reissued are completely unacceptable.
This petition is closed All petitions run for 6 months
Government responded
This response was given on 19 October 2021
There are no plans to hold an inquiry into DVLA’s performance which has been fully scrutinised this year in two Transport Select Committee sessions. Ministers are also provided with regular updates.
The DVLA has an incredibly strong track record of outstanding public service and has quickly adapted to continue to provide essential public services during the pandemic. Last year, the DVLA issued 8.8m driving licences, 16.3m vehicle registration certificates and made more than 500,000 medical licensing decisions. The DVLA’s contact centre answered more than seven million queries including 4.8 million calls, 1.5 million webchats and more than 950,000 emails.
More than 90% of customer interactions with the DVLA are carried out online and these online services have continued to work as normal throughout the pandemic. Motorists who transact online usually receive their documents within a few days. Motorists are strongly encouraged to use the DVLA’s online services whenever possible as this remains the easiest and quickest way to access most of the DVLA’s services. However, not everyone wants or is able to use online services and the DVLA receives around 60,000 items of mail every day which must be opened manually by DVLA staff working on site. Unfortunately, delays have been caused in processing paper applications due to the DVLA having had fewer staff on site to ensure social distancing in line with Welsh Government requirements, industrial action by the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union and a significantly increased demand for its services.
The DVLA has helped to keep drivers on the road throughout the pandemic by issuing one-year licences to lorry and bus drivers aged 45 and over without them having to submit the usual medical report if the driver has been unable to get an appointment with their doctor to conduct a medical examination. Also, all driving licences expiring between 1 February and 31 December were automatically renewed for 11 months. The DVLA has also launched ten new online services to make things easier for customers, including online tachograph applications and change of address and duplicate V5C (logbook) services.
From 6 April to 31 August the PCS union held a series of strikes at the DVLA. The cumulative impact of industrial action and having had fewer staff on site to ensure social distancing in line with Welsh Government requirements has meant that the time taken to process paper applications has increased. PCS specifically targeted the drivers medical section for a month-long strike in August.
The drivers medical area has also been affected by the massive pressure the pandemic has placed on the NHS. It is a legal requirement for drivers to notify the DVLA of the onset or worsening of any health condition that may affect their fitness to drive. Following a notification, the DVLA must assess a driver’s fitness to drive which can often involve seeking further information from a GP or other health professional involved in the driver’s care. Guidance from the British Medical Association at the start of the pandemic advised GP practices to deprioritise non-essential work. This has only very recently been updated to say previously deprioritised work may need to be reviewed, including DVLA medical checks which help maintain people’s wellbeing and livelihoods.
The DVLA has put in place a range of mitigating measures to reduce the backlog of paper transactions, including the introduction of additional online services at pace in response to the pandemic, which has helped to reduce the number of postal applications received and processed manually by DVLA staff. DVLA staff are working evenings and at weekends and additional staff have been recruited to tackle the backlogs. The DVLA is also securing additional office space to provide surge capacity for medical applications, as well as to provide resilience and business continuity going forward.
Department for Transport
This is a revised response. The Petitions Committee requested a response which more directly addressed the request of the petition. You can find the original response towards the bottom of the petition page (https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/586770)
Related activity
MPs question Government Ministers, officials, and the PCS union on the work of the DVLA
On Wednesday 21 July, MPs on the Transport Committee held an evidence session to consider the difficulties facing the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), including the current backlog of cases awaiting processing.
Watch the session: https://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/e13d8e44-6479-459a-89ab-be2a147eef4f
Read the transcript: https://committees.parliament.uk/oralevidence/2613/pdf/
During the session, the Committee questioned:
- Mark Serwotka, General Secretary, PCS
- Sarah Evans, DVLA Branch Chair, PCS Union
- Julie Lennard, Chief Executive Officer, DVLA
- Baroness Vere of Norbiton, Minister for Roads, Buses and Places, Department for Transport
This session is the Committee’s second evidence session with the DVLA this year. MPs spoke to the Chief Executive following an outbreak of covid-19 at DVLA headquarters in Swansea.
What is the Transport Committee?
The Transport Committee is a cross-party group of MPs appointed by the House of Commons to scrutinise the work of the Department for Transport, the Government department responsible for the English transport network.
The Department is also responsible for a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland that have not been devolved to the Scottish Government, Welsh Government, or Northern Ireland Executive.
Find out more about the Transport Committee: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/153/transport-committee/
Follow the Committee on Twitter for real-time updates on its work: https://twitter.com/CommonsTrans
MPs publish correspondence about the work of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA)
Following an evidence session on the work of the DVLA in July, the Transport Committee has published correspondence from the Chief Executive of the DVLA and the Minister for Roads, Buses and Places, providing further information MPs asked for during the session.
Read the letter from Baroness Vere of Norbiton, Minister for Roads, Buses and Places: https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/7192/documents/75759/default/
Read the letter from Julie Lennard, Chief Executive of the DVLA: https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/7193/documents/75760/default/
The correspondence provides information about application turnaround times, vocational driver licensing, calls to the DVLA contact centre, unmet call demands, and industrial action.
The Transport Committee's evidence session on the work of the DVLA
On Wednesday 21 July, MPs on the Transport Committee held an evidence session to consider the difficulties facing the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), including the current backlog of cases awaiting processing.
Watch the session: https://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/e13d8e44-6479-459a-89ab-be2a147eef4f
Read the transcript: https://committees.parliament.uk/oralevidence/2613/pdf/
What is the Transport Committee?
The Transport Committee is a cross-party group of MPs appointed by the House of Commons to scrutinise the work of the Department for Transport, the Government department responsible for the English transport network.
The Department is also responsible for a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland that have not been devolved to the Scottish Government, Welsh Government, or Northern Ireland Executive.
Find out more about the Transport Committee: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/153/transport-committee/
Follow the Committee on Twitter for real-time updates on its work: https://twitter.com/CommonsTrans
Original Government response
The DVLA provides regular updates on performance and progress to Department for Transport ministers and it has been fully scrutinised in two Transport Select Committee evidence sessions in 2021.
The DVLA has an incredibly strong track record of outstanding public service and has quickly adapted to continue to provide essential public services during the pandemic. Last year, the DVLA issued 8.8m driving licences, 16.3m vehicle registration certificates and made more than 500,000 medical licensing decisions. The DVLA’s contact centre answered more than seven million queries including 4.8 million calls, 1.5 million webchats and more than 950,000 emails.
More than 90% of customer interactions with the DVLA are carried out online and these online services have continued to work as normal throughout the pandemic. Motorists who transact online usually receive their documents within a few days. Motorists are strongly encouraged to use the DVLA’s online services whenever possible as this remains the easiest and quickest way to access most of the DVLA’s services. However, not everyone wants or is able to use online services and the DVLA receives around 60,000 items of mail every day which must be opened manually by DVLA staff working on site. Unfortunately, delays have been caused in processing paper applications due to the DVLA having had fewer staff on site to ensure social distancing in line with Welsh Government requirements, industrial action by the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union and a significantly increased demand for its services.
The DVLA has helped to keep drivers on the road throughout the pandemic by issuing one-year licences to lorry and bus drivers aged 45 and over without them having to submit the usual medical report if the driver has been unable to get an appointment with their doctor to conduct a medical examination. Also, all driving licences expiring between 1 February and 31 December were automatically renewed for 11 months. The DVLA has also launched ten new online services to make things easier for customers, including online tachograph applications and change of address and duplicate V5C (logbook) services.
From 6 April to 31 August the PCS union held a series of strikes at the DVLA. The cumulative impact of industrial action and having had fewer staff on site to ensure social distancing in line with Welsh Government requirements has meant that the time taken to process paper applications has increased. PCS specifically targeted the drivers medical section for a month-long strike in August.
The drivers medical area has also been affected by the massive pressure the pandemic has placed on the NHS. It is a legal requirement for drivers to notify the DVLA of the onset or worsening of any health condition that may affect their fitness to drive. Following a notification, the DVLA must assess a driver’s fitness to drive which can often involve seeking further information from a GP or other health professional involved in the driver’s care. Guidance from the British Medical Association at the start of the pandemic advised GP practices to deprioritise non-essential work. This has only very recently been updated to say previously deprioritised work may need to be reviewed, including DVLA medical checks which help maintain people’s wellbeing and livelihoods.
The DVLA has put in place a range of mitigating measures to reduce the backlog of paper transactions, including the introduction of additional online services at pace in response to the pandemic, which has helped to reduce the number of postal applications received and processed manually by DVLA staff. DVLA staff are working evenings and at weekends and additional staff have been recruited to tackle the backlogs. The DVLA is also securing additional office space to provide surge capacity for medical applications, as well as to provide resilience and business continuity going forward.
Department for Transport
This response was given on 10 September 2021. The Petitions Committee then requested a revised response, that more directly addressed the request of the petition.
Have your say: MPs investigate driving license backlogs at the DVLA
MPs on the Public Accounts Committee are investigating driving license backlogs at the DVLA and want to hear from you.
The Committee wants to hear about your experiences of delays when applying for or renewing licences with the DVLA, or other interactions with the DVLA more generally.
The Committee plans to hold an evidence session with senior officials from the Department for Transport and the DVLA on 24 November, and your contributions can help shape the questions MPs ask, and the outputs of the Committee's inquiry.
This inquiry will build on an upcoming NAO report on DVLA backlogs.
Have your say
You can submit your contributions as "written evidence" on the Public Accounts Committee's website or by emailing it as a word document via pubacom@parliament.uk
The deadline for sending your written contributions is Friday 11 November.
Evidence should be no longer than a couple of sides of A4, and should set out your experiences of delays when applying for or renewing licences with the DVLA, or other interactions with the DVLA more generally.
Contributions will be published on the Committee's website. As such, please avoid including any personal details in the body of your evidence, and please do not attach any case files, correspondence, etc.
Please note that the Committee cannot investigate individual cases, and will not be able to follow-up on or respond to your contributions on an individual basis.
What is the Public Accounts Committee?
The Public Accounts Committee is a group of cross-party MPs which examines the value for money of Government projects, programmes and service delivery. Drawing on the work of the National Audit Office the Committee holds government officials to account for the economy, efficiency and effectiveness of public spending.
Find out more about the committee on its website.
Follow the committee on Twitter @CommonsPAC for updates on its work.
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