Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential environmental and administrative implications of relying on paper-based postal order payments for Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency services.

There are no Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) services for which only a postal order is accepted as payment. Trade licensing applications can also be paid for by cheque. The DVLA is currently developing improvements to its trade licensing service and this includes exploring the introduction of alternative payment methods.

The DVLA offers nearly 50 main customer facing services, with the majority of these being available online with a range of payment options. Only seven transactions currently require a manual payment by either postal order or cheque.