Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many staff currently work for the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
On 16 September 2021 the total headcount at the DVLA was 6,120.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to increase the speed with which HGV driver applications are processed.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The DVLA is currently prioritising applications for HGV driving licences and continues to explore opportunities to reduce turnaround times for paper applications. Extra staff have been recruited and the DVLA is seeking extra office space to house more staff to help reduce backlogs and provide future resilience and business continuity.
Paper driving licence applications are currently taking between six and ten weeks to process and more information is available on GOV.UK here. There may be additional delays in processing more complex transactions, for example, if medical investigations are needed.
Following a public consultation, the Department is also introducing changes that will streamline the licensing process for new HGV drivers and increase driving test availability. These are aimed to help address current driver shortages. A written statement to Parliament about these changes has been published on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what additional resources have been made available to ensuring that HGV driver applications are being processed on time.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
On 15 September, there were 54,191 applications for vocational driving licences awaiting processing. These are a mix of first applications for a provisional vocational licence and renewals. It is important to note that the majority of those applying to renew their vocational licence will be able to continue to drive while their application is being processed. Vocational applications include those applying for entitlement to drive both HGVs and buses and it is not possible to separate them out.
On 31 March 2010, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) employed 6,428 staff. It is not possible to specify how many staff were working on applications for HGV licences in 2010 as most DVLA operational roles require employees to carry out a range of tasks.
Information about the number of renewal applications for HGV driver licences that were not processed by their renewal date is not held.
The DVLA is currently prioritising applications for HGV driving licences and continues to explore opportunities to reduce turnaround times for paper applications. Extra staff have been recruited and the DVLA is seeking extra office space to house more staff to help reduce backlogs and provide future resilience and business continuity.
Paper driving licence applications are currently taking between six and ten weeks to process and more information is available on gov.uk here. There may be additional delays in processing more complex transactions, for example, if medical investigations are needed.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many renewal applications for HGV driver licences were not processed by their renewal date as a result of delays in DLVA processing in each month since January 2021 to date. .
Answered by Trudy Harrison
On 15 September, there were 54,191 applications for vocational driving licences awaiting processing. These are a mix of first applications for a provisional vocational licence and renewals. It is important to note that the majority of those applying to renew their vocational licence will be able to continue to drive while their application is being processed. Vocational applications include those applying for entitlement to drive both HGVs and buses and it is not possible to separate them out.
On 31 March 2010, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) employed 6,428 staff. It is not possible to specify how many staff were working on applications for HGV licences in 2010 as most DVLA operational roles require employees to carry out a range of tasks.
Information about the number of renewal applications for HGV driver licences that were not processed by their renewal date is not held.
The DVLA is currently prioritising applications for HGV driving licences and continues to explore opportunities to reduce turnaround times for paper applications. Extra staff have been recruited and the DVLA is seeking extra office space to house more staff to help reduce backlogs and provide future resilience and business continuity.
Paper driving licence applications are currently taking between six and ten weeks to process and more information is available on gov.uk here. There may be additional delays in processing more complex transactions, for example, if medical investigations are needed.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many staff working for the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency were dedicated to processing HGV driver applications in 2010.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
On 15 September, there were 54,191 applications for vocational driving licences awaiting processing. These are a mix of first applications for a provisional vocational licence and renewals. It is important to note that the majority of those applying to renew their vocational licence will be able to continue to drive while their application is being processed. Vocational applications include those applying for entitlement to drive both HGVs and buses and it is not possible to separate them out.
On 31 March 2010, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) employed 6,428 staff. It is not possible to specify how many staff were working on applications for HGV licences in 2010 as most DVLA operational roles require employees to carry out a range of tasks.
Information about the number of renewal applications for HGV driver licences that were not processed by their renewal date is not held.
The DVLA is currently prioritising applications for HGV driving licences and continues to explore opportunities to reduce turnaround times for paper applications. Extra staff have been recruited and the DVLA is seeking extra office space to house more staff to help reduce backlogs and provide future resilience and business continuity.
Paper driving licence applications are currently taking between six and ten weeks to process and more information is available on gov.uk here. There may be additional delays in processing more complex transactions, for example, if medical investigations are needed.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many staff worked for the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency in 2010.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
On 15 September, there were 54,191 applications for vocational driving licences awaiting processing. These are a mix of first applications for a provisional vocational licence and renewals. It is important to note that the majority of those applying to renew their vocational licence will be able to continue to drive while their application is being processed. Vocational applications include those applying for entitlement to drive both HGVs and buses and it is not possible to separate them out.
On 31 March 2010, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) employed 6,428 staff. It is not possible to specify how many staff were working on applications for HGV licences in 2010 as most DVLA operational roles require employees to carry out a range of tasks.
Information about the number of renewal applications for HGV driver licences that were not processed by their renewal date is not held.
The DVLA is currently prioritising applications for HGV driving licences and continues to explore opportunities to reduce turnaround times for paper applications. Extra staff have been recruited and the DVLA is seeking extra office space to house more staff to help reduce backlogs and provide future resilience and business continuity.
Paper driving licence applications are currently taking between six and ten weeks to process and more information is available on gov.uk here. There may be additional delays in processing more complex transactions, for example, if medical investigations are needed.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many applications for HGV driving licences the DVLA had taken receipt of but had not yet completed processing of as at 15 September 2021.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
On 15 September, there were 54,191 applications for vocational driving licences awaiting processing. These are a mix of first applications for a provisional vocational licence and renewals. It is important to note that the majority of those applying to renew their vocational licence will be able to continue to drive while their application is being processed. Vocational applications include those applying for entitlement to drive both HGVs and buses and it is not possible to separate them out.
On 31 March 2010, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) employed 6,428 staff. It is not possible to specify how many staff were working on applications for HGV licences in 2010 as most DVLA operational roles require employees to carry out a range of tasks.
Information about the number of renewal applications for HGV driver licences that were not processed by their renewal date is not held.
The DVLA is currently prioritising applications for HGV driving licences and continues to explore opportunities to reduce turnaround times for paper applications. Extra staff have been recruited and the DVLA is seeking extra office space to house more staff to help reduce backlogs and provide future resilience and business continuity.
Paper driving licence applications are currently taking between six and ten weeks to process and more information is available on gov.uk here. There may be additional delays in processing more complex transactions, for example, if medical investigations are needed.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many and what proportion of Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency Staff are responsible for processing heavy goods vehicle driver applications.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
The table below shows the average processing time for vocational (which includes HGV) driving licence applications.
Financial Year | Average days to issue a vocational driving licence |
2018/19 | 3.33 |
2019/20 | 3.42 |
2020/21 | 6.71 |
2021/22 (to end of August) | 16.80 |
Industrial action by the Public and Commercial Services union, a significantly reduced number of staff on site to ensure social distancing in line with Welsh Government requirements, as well as the increased demand for Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) services has led to the increased processing times in this financial year.
It is not possible to specify how many staff are working on applications for HGV licences as most DVLA operational roles require employees to carry out a range of tasks.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average processing time was for an HGV driving licence application in (a) 2018, (b) 2019 and (c) 2020.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
The table below shows the average processing time for vocational (which includes HGV) driving licence applications.
Financial Year | Average days to issue a vocational driving licence |
2018/19 | 3.33 |
2019/20 | 3.42 |
2020/21 | 6.71 |
2021/22 (to end of August) | 16.80 |
Industrial action by the Public and Commercial Services union, a significantly reduced number of staff on site to ensure social distancing in line with Welsh Government requirements, as well as the increased demand for Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) services has led to the increased processing times in this financial year.
It is not possible to specify how many staff are working on applications for HGV licences as most DVLA operational roles require employees to carry out a range of tasks.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average processing time has been for an HGV driving licence application in 2021.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
The table below shows the average processing time for vocational (which includes HGV) driving licence applications.
Financial Year | Average days to issue a vocational driving licence |
2018/19 | 3.33 |
2019/20 | 3.42 |
2020/21 | 6.71 |
2021/22 (to end of August) | 16.80 |
Industrial action by the Public and Commercial Services union, a significantly reduced number of staff on site to ensure social distancing in line with Welsh Government requirements, as well as the increased demand for Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) services has led to the increased processing times in this financial year.
It is not possible to specify how many staff are working on applications for HGV licences as most DVLA operational roles require employees to carry out a range of tasks.