GovWire

The government has today (7 November 2024) published an independent review of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) to ensure the organisation can continue to deliver high-quality services and value for money for taxpayers.

DVLA plays a crucial role in keeping the UKs roads safe and keeping Britain moving. It holds more than 50 million driver records and more than 40 million vehicle records, while collecting over 7 billion a year in Vehicle Excise Duty (VED).

The review is part of the Cabinet Office Public Body Review Programme and assessed DVLA against the 4 pillars of efficiency, efficacy, accountability and governance.

It concluded that DVLA is a critically important executive agency of the Department for Transport (DfT) and sets out 19 recommendations to ensure DVLA remains well placed to provide an excellent service to motorists in the future.

Key recommendations include the DVLA:

• setting a bold and ambitious strategy for service delivery
• accelerating its transformation to an even more dynamic, digital, and data-driven organisation
• strengthening the customer experience, particularly for vulnerable and smaller stakeholder groups

Future of Roads Minister, Lilian Greenwood MP, said:

From holding more than 50 million driver records and issuing driving licences to helping the police deal with crime, DVLA plays a crucial role in ensuring our roads are among the safest in the world.

This review is critical to understanding how the agency can continue to go from strength to strength to meet the ever-changing needs and challenges of the future.

We will work closely with DVLA to ensure it continues to evolve as a customer-focused, data-driven, digital-first organisation.

Minister Greenwood accepted the findings of the independent review and committed DfT and DVLA to act on the recommendations.

DVLA Non-Executive Chair, David Jones, said:

Our customers are central to everything we do at DVLA, a commitment thats shared by our 6,000 plus hard-working and dedicated staff.

We will continue to work closely with DfT and all of our stakeholders on delivering world-class services for our customers, responding to an increasingly digital world.

The review was led by an independent lead reviewer, Janette Beinart, who is a Non-Executive Director at National Highways.