Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 16
16
Not Addressed
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the DVLA prioritised those services with the highest volumes of applications...
Conclusion
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the DVLA prioritised those services with the highest volumes of applications or where it believed processing delays would cause greater problems. The DVLA told us that in 2020, it prioritised reducing the backlog in paper applications for vehicle-related transactions, because at the time, these backlogs were a bigger problem than the backlog in paper-based driving licence applications. The DVLA prioritised vehicle services because of the higher volume of vehicle-related work, in the knowledge that it would have a knock-on effect on driving licence services. The DVLA told us that to address backlogs in driving licence applications, its approach was to arrange a change to the law that meant no customers needed to renew licences that expired in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.33
Government Response Summary
The response discusses the success of the DVLA's online services during the pandemic and the challenges with paper applications and medical applications, but it doesn't address the prioritisation decisions made during the pandemic.
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
6.3 The DVLA’s online services worked very well throughout the pandemic, with 98% of driving licences issued within three days when the application was made online. The challenge was with paper driving licence applications and drivers’ medical applications, which required staff to physically be on site (a significant challenge during the height of the pandemic, with restrictions sometimes more stringent in Wales) and turnaround of information from medical professionals who had understandably been instructed to deprioritise DVLA work.