Source · National Audit Office
Driver & Vehicle Licensing Agency Annual Report and Accounts 2024-25
Published: 17 Jul 2025
Recommendations: 6
Type: Value for Money
NAO confirmed: 6
NAO report detail with recommendations, government responses, and any Public Accounts Committee follow-up.
Recommendations
I recommend that, until a long-term solution is put into place, DVLA use the data it holds to produce the best estimate it can of the cost of VED non-compliance for reporting next year and include any limitations of its estimate in its reporting.
Recommendation 2
I recommend that as part of developing and implementing its next compliance and enforcement strategy, DVLA: collect all relevant cost data on its compliance and enforcement activities to assess whether its current compliance and enforcement activities are cost effective and proportionate.
Recommendation 3
I recommend that as part of developing and implementing its next compliance and enforcement strategy, DVLA: undertake a full evaluation of its performance and outcomes achieved against its 2022-2025 strategy and incorporate relevant findings into its plans for future activities.
Recommendation 4
I recommend that as part of developing and implementing its next compliance and enforcement strategy, DVLA: explore potential wider behaviour trends that might affect VED revenue, for example understanding why the number of vehicles that have a Statutory Off-Road Notification (SORN) continues to increase.
Recommendation 5
I recommend that as part of developing and implementing its next compliance and enforcement strategy, DVLA: explore a wider range of options to innovate and further improve VED compliance and enforcement, for example in how it may use new technologies; this could include engagement with other organisations, both government and private sector, that collect revenue to ensure that up-to-date best practice is considered.
Recommendation 6
I recommend that DVLA and DFT develop a long-term approach for estimating reliably the cost of VED non-compliance to help DVLA target and deliver enforcement and compliance activity more cost-effectively and to enhance Parliamentary visibility of revenue lost to the taxpayer. This should include considering a range of options as to how they might achieve this.