Forty-first Report - Driving licence backlogs at the DVLA
Select Committee
Public Accounts Committee
HC 735
17 March 2023
Government response
Treasury minutes: Government response to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Forty first report from Session 2022-23 · published 30 May 2023
Recommendations & Conclusions
7 results
9
Conclusion
Acknowledged
From April 2020 to March 2022, the DVLA did not answer 60 million calls to...
Conclusion
From April 2020 to March 2022, the DVLA did not answer 60 million calls to its drivers’ licence customer service number, 94% of the total it received. The number of calls to the DVLA about driving licences surged in Summer …
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Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the Committee's (implied) recommendation, setting a target implementation date of September 2023, and states the DVLA and department will provide a joint letter to the Committee within six months.
HM Treasury
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13
Conclusion
Acknowledged
The DVLA told us that at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic its first priority...
Conclusion
The DVLA told us that at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic its first priority had been to maintain its online services because most licence applications are initiated online.26 In the periods during the pandemic when customers who applied on …
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Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the importance of providing non-digital options, highlighting the DVLA's existing digital services and strategy to encourage their use, while noting the challenges of paper applications and the need to avoid disenfranchising those unable or unwilling to use online services.
HM Treasury
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14
Conclusion
Acknowledged
The DVLA told us it estimates that about 60% of the paper-based applications it receives...
Conclusion
The DVLA told us it estimates that about 60% of the paper-based applications it receives could have been made online, and so those customers experienced longer waiting times than they needed to. During the pandemic, the DVLA investigated the reasons …
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Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendations and highlights existing actions by the DVLA to promote online services and address concerns about data security, and to improve services.
HM Treasury
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18
Conclusion
Acknowledged
At the onset of the pandemic, the DVLA sought to make paper driving licence services...
Conclusion
At the onset of the pandemic, the DVLA sought to make paper driving licence services more resilient. The NAO reported that the DVLA decided to find additional office space in April 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic in Wales had just …
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Government Response Summary
The government highlights that online services worked well, but the challenge was with paper driving licence applications and drivers’ medical applications.
HM Treasury
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20
Conclusion
Acknowledged
Despite the DVLA clearing the backlog in most driving licence applications by mid- 2022, there...
Conclusion
Despite the DVLA clearing the backlog in most driving licence applications by mid- 2022, there remains a backlog in applications that involve the DVLA making a medical decision. Processing times for applications that involve such decisions are still far longer …
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Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation but highlights that the number of cases where a medical condition must be investigated before a licence can be issued have returned to normal levels.
HM Treasury
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24
Conclusion
Acknowledged
The evidence we heard from the Department suggested to us that it has taken a...
Conclusion
The evidence we heard from the Department suggested to us that it has taken a hands- off approach to the DVLA, and not ensured that the DVLA’s services are periodically reviewed and improved through timely adoption of modern working practices …
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Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation to set out a strategy for how the DVLA will re-engineer and modernise the driving licence process over the next 3 to 5 years but only restates existing actions rather than committing to something new.
HM Treasury
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25
Conclusion
Acknowledged
The pandemic exposed weaknesses in the DVLA’s current operations which rely heavily on staff working...
Conclusion
The pandemic exposed weaknesses in the DVLA’s current operations which rely heavily on staff working on site and IT systems that hold customers’ personal information which staff can only access on site. Currently, remote working is limited, particularly for operational …
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Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation but only restates existing actions rather than committing to something new.
HM Treasury
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