Drivers face 'catastrophic' backlog at DVLA, warns union

By Matt Allan
Published 22nd Jul 2021, 12:55 BST
Applications for new V5C logbooks are among the services facing weeks of more than two monthsApplications for new V5C logbooks are among the services facing weeks of more than two months
Applications for new V5C logbooks are among the services facing weeks of more than two months
Strike action and social distance blamed for wait of up to two months for new licences and logbooks

Motorists seeking new driving licences or vehicle logbooks face a “catastrophic” backlog at the government agency handling them due to staff being put at risk by management, a union has claimed.

Drivers making postal applications to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) are facing delays stretching into months, with a combination of staff shortages and industrial action blamed for the hold-ups.

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Paper applications for licence renewals, new vehicle logbooks and new driving licences are taking up to 10 weeks to process, with an estimated 1.4 million applications currently caught in the backlog.

Drivers are being urged to use online services for driving licence updates and renewalsDrivers are being urged to use online services for driving licence updates and renewals
Drivers are being urged to use online services for driving licence updates and renewals

Mark Serwotka, general secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), told MPs high numbers of Covid cases among staff had been caused by management’s decision not to allow them to work from home, and said strike action over conditions was worsening the hold-ups.

He told the Transport Select Committee: "The DVLA has had the single biggest Covid outbreak of any workplace in the UK.

"It's operated out of central Cabinet Office guidelines for handling the Covid pandemic. It has taken management decisions that we believe put people at risk."

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There have been 643 Covid cases, including one death, among staff at the DVLA’s Swansea offices and Mr Serwotka blamed this on the number of people required to work in an office rather than from home.

He claimed that no other Government offices had suffered similar outbreaks of the virus, adding: "None of them require the same amount of people to be in work as the DVLA and all of them have been able to deliver their business, including DWP (Department for Work and Pensions) and HMRC (HM Revenue and Customs), with staff working from home.