Asked by: Derek Twigg (Labour - Widnes and Halewood)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 29 November 2021 to Question 80915 on Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency: Databases, how many drivers have been fined for not providing their correct address to the DVLA in each year since 2015.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The data requested is not available. The police are responsible for prosecuting this offence and the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency is not routinely notified of convictions as the offence does not attract penalty points on a driving licence.
Asked by: Derek Twigg (Labour - Widnes and Halewood)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the accuracy of driver's address records held by the DVLA.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
All drivers have a legal responsibility to ensure that the address on their driving licence is correct. Not doing so is an offence which can be subject to a fine of up to £1000. It is important that drivers ensure that the address held on the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA)’s record is accurate so that they can receive important information, for example reminders when their licence is due for renewal. The DVLA relies on the public to provide accurate information and only becomes aware that an address on its records is inaccurate when it is notified of such.
To help ensure records are accurate, the DVLA maintains a database of suspect addresses which is updated regularly, and places markers on individual licence records where there is information to indicate that the address held is incorrect. No further licences are issued until any issues have been investigated.
Asked by: Derek Twigg (Labour - Widnes and Halewood)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the time taken by the DVLA to process new driving licence applications in the last three months.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA)’s online services have been available throughout the pandemic and are the quickest and easiest way to renew a driving licence. There are no delays in online applications and customers should receive their driving licence within a few days.
However, many people still choose or have to make a paper application for a driving licence. The DVLA receives around 60,000 items of mail every day which must be dealt with in person. Fewer operational staff have been on site to allow for social distancing, in line with Welsh Government requirements. This, as well as ongoing industrial action by members of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) has led to delays.
Currently, driving licence applications made on paper are likely to take six to ten weeks to process. More information on turnaround times is available online. There may be additional delays in processing more complex transactions, for example, if medical investigations are needed.
Asked by: Derek Twigg (Labour - Widnes and Halewood)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many applications for hedgehog road signage, warning motorists of animal hazards in the road, has he received from local authorities in the last three years; and how many of those applications have been approved by his Department.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
The Department has received six applications for the small wild mammal traffic sign in the last three years. None of these applications have been approved.
Asked by: Derek Twigg (Labour - Widnes and Halewood)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many driving licence applications had been received but not processed on 30 August 2020; and what estimate he has made of the average time taken to process those applications.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
The number of paper driving licence applications waiting to be processed fluctuates on a daily basis as licences are issued and new applications received. On 1 September, there were 127,870 paper driving licence applications where customers had applied directly to the DVLA, awaiting processing. As of 15 September, this had reduced to 94,920.
The average time taken to deal with driving licence applications received across online and paper channels is 5.26 days.
Asked by: Derek Twigg (Labour - Widnes and Halewood)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many and what proportion of the DVLA workforce are currently (a) working at DVLA premises and (b) processing driving licences.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
All Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) staff who can work from home continue to do so as office space has been prioritised for operational staff who have to be on-site to process paper applications. The DVLA’s online services have worked well throughout the pandemic and this remains the quickest and easiest way of making applications.
The DVLA is employing shift patterns, staggered start times, weekend working and other measures to ensure that social distancing can be maintained. Due to this, the number of staff who can be on-site at any one time is greatly reduced but the working day has been significantly extended. This means that almost all DVLA operational staff are now working on-site but not all at the same time.
Staff are allocated to different work streams at different times depending on where the need is greatest. All driving licences and driving entitlement expiring between 1 February 2020 and 31 December 2020 have been extended for 11 months. This means that no drivers currently need to apply to renew a driving licence or driving entitlement.
Asked by: Derek Twigg (Labour - Widnes and Halewood)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his timescale is for reaching a decision on the potential electrification of the railway line between Liverpool and Manchester via Warrington and Widnes.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
Electrification will play a significant role in our programme to decarbonise the railway and will deliver other benefits for railway users and neighbours.
Network Rail’s ongoing work developing a Traction Decarbonisation Network Strategy will inform decisions about whether electrification or alternative technologies are the most appropriate option for each part of the network where diesel trains currently run. This work will support the Department’s Transport Decarbonisation Plan, which will be published at the end of this year.