Newslink October 2021
Membership magazine of the Motor Schools Association; road safety, driver training and testing news.
Membership magazine of the Motor Schools Association; road safety, driver training and testing news.
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DVLA in the spotlight – again<br />
More trouble at ’mill as MPs<br />
question DVLA again<br />
Colin Lilly<br />
Editor, MSA GB <strong>Newslink</strong><br />
The saga of bad service at<br />
the DVLA continues despite<br />
the Government offering a<br />
comprehensive rebuttal of<br />
complaints.<br />
In the August issue of <strong>Newslink</strong> I wrote<br />
about the DVLA’s role in delays resulting<br />
from the Covid-19 pandemic. The<br />
agency has been hit by a string of<br />
complaints this year, with criticism from<br />
the public over a drop in service<br />
standards amid a huge backlogs in<br />
licence applications and enquiries, while<br />
staff took industrial action over the way<br />
the agency’s management had handled<br />
their concerns during the Covid<br />
pandemic.<br />
As a result of the complaints, the<br />
Transport Select Committee summoned<br />
representatives from the PCS union and<br />
Baroness Vere, Minister for Roads,<br />
Buses and Places, Department for<br />
Transport, and Julie Lennard, Chief<br />
Executive DVLA, to appear before MPs<br />
to answer a number of questions. During<br />
this session the PCS representative<br />
commented that “I have never<br />
encountered, in 21 years, the level of<br />
incompetence and mismanagement that<br />
is on display at DVLA in Swansea.”<br />
That wasn’t the only criticism either.<br />
A petition to the Government was raised<br />
about the DVLA’s performance, entitled<br />
‘Inquiry into the DVLA’s performance<br />
during the Covid-19 pandemic’.<br />
The petition creator added “in my view<br />
the DVLA are not-fit-for-purpose. An<br />
inquiry needs to be held into their<br />
performance during the pandemic. This<br />
should lead to a more efficient<br />
customer service, treatment of those<br />
with medical issues and more.<br />
“Delays such as a 6-month wait for a<br />
medical restricted licence to be<br />
reissued are completely unacceptable.”<br />
The petition has attracted 11,099<br />
signatures to date. The government<br />
responds when 10,000 signatures have<br />
been achieved. When 100,000<br />
signatures have been achieved the<br />
petition will be considered for debate in<br />
Parliament.<br />
The Government has now responded<br />
as it is legally obliged to do, and its<br />
response is as follows. As one might<br />
guess, it does not accept any guilt or<br />
blame, despite the MPs criticisms.<br />
It states: The DVLA provides regular<br />
updates on performance and progress to<br />
Department for Transport ministers and<br />
it has been fully scrutinised in two<br />
Transport Select Committee evidence<br />
sessions in <strong>2021</strong>.<br />
The DVLA has an incredibly strong<br />
track record of outstanding public<br />
service and has quickly adapted to<br />
continue to provide essential public<br />
services during the pandemic. Last year,<br />
the DVLA issued 8.8m driving licences,<br />
16.3m vehicle registration certificates<br />
and made more than 500,000 medical<br />
licensing decisions. The DVLA’s contact<br />
centre answered more than seven<br />
million queries including 4.8 million<br />
calls, 1.5 million webchats and more<br />
than 950,000 emails.<br />
More than 90% of customer<br />
interactions with the DVLA are carried<br />
out online and these online services<br />
have continued to work as normal<br />
throughout the pandemic. Motorists who<br />
transact online usually receive their<br />
documents within a few days. Motorists<br />
are strongly encouraged to use the<br />
DVLA’s online services whenever<br />
possible as this remains the easiest and<br />
quickest way to access most of the<br />
DVLA’s services.<br />
However, not everyone wants or is<br />
able to use online services and the<br />
DVLA receives around 60,000 items of<br />
mail every day which must be opened<br />
manually by DVLA staff working on site.<br />
Unfortunately, delays have been<br />
caused in processing paper applications<br />
due to the DVLA having had fewer staff<br />
on site to ensure social distancing in line<br />
with Welsh Government requirements,<br />
industrial action by the Public and<br />
Commercial Services (PCS) union and a<br />
significantly increased demand for its<br />
services.<br />
The DVLA has helped to keep drivers<br />
on the road throughout the pandemic by<br />
issuing one-year licences to lorry and<br />
bus drivers aged 45 and over without<br />
them having to submit the usual medical<br />
report if the driver has been unable to<br />
get an appointment with their doctor to<br />
conduct a medical examination.<br />
Also, all driving licences expiring<br />
between 1 February and 31 December<br />
16<br />
NEWSLINK n OCTOBER <strong>2021</strong>