8:05 am, July 26, 2023
The DVLA has been placed under review as part of a government programme aimed at assessing the effectiveness of public bodies.
The government yesterday (July 25) launched an independent review of the body in order to judge its efficiency, efficacy, accountability and governance.
The process will be led by Janette Beinart, non-executive director of the Cabinet Office and National Highways, who will be supported in her work by Department for Transport officials.
The review will assess how the DVLA works with its wide range of stakeholders both in and out of government and is expected to last until the winter.
It comes after a rocky few years for the agency, which has come under fire from dealers and drivers alike.
The organisation has been dogged by strike action, the most recent of which saw staff walk out for five days due to to a bitter dispute over pay, jobs, pensions and conditions.
That followed a row over the Covid safety of its Swansea offices during the pandemic, which also resulted in industrial action.
In the summer of 2021, IMDA boss Umesh Samani labelled the outfit a ‘nightmare’ and said constant striking had left dealers ‘pulling their hair out’.
Then, last March, an uncover report by The Times found that that workers were boasting about watching TV in bed during their usual work-from-home hours as backlogs reached record levels for both dealers and motorists.
Car Dealer also reported that 3,400 out of 6,200 DVLA staff were placed on ‘paid special leave’ during the height of the pandemic in April and May 2020.
Employees complained that they were too vulnerable to go into the office but it was later discovered that some holidayed and partied while not working.
There is no suggestion that these issues are the cause of the upcoming review.
Roads minister Richard Holden said: ‘The DVLA plays a crucial role in making sure drivers and vehicles can get around legally, safely and with confidence, giving drivers peace of mind by storing their records safely and tackling vehicle tax evasion.
‘With over 80 per cent of all transactions now being carried out online, this review will help us understand how the DVLA can continue to grow from strength to strength and how we can support it to become more digital to efficiently serve the increasingly digitally savvy driver.’
Lesley Cowley OBE, DVLA non-executive chair, added: ‘Our customers remain at the heart of everything we do at DVLA and we welcome this review as an opportunity to highlight our commitment to delivering world-class services, our role in keeping Britain’s roads safe, and the continued hard work and dedication of our over 6,000 staff.
‘It comes at an important time for DVLA as we continue to launch new digital services and set ambitious targets for the future, as a forward thinking, dynamic organisation.
‘We look forward to working closely with the government in support of this review over the coming weeks and months.’
