Press Release - Electronic service delivery in the Driver,
Vehicle and Operator Agencies in Great Britain
16 January 2008
Since the early 1990s, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency
(DVLA), Driving Standards Agency and the Vehicle and Operator
Services Agency have made some of their services available either
through the internet, by telephone or through business to business
computer systems. A report released today by the National Audit
Office has found that these developments have improved
accessibility to these services and are expected to provide savings
in the future.
Between them, the agencies provide services for 42 million
drivers, the owners of 36 million vehicles and 100,000 commercial
vehicle operators in Great Britain. To date, fifteen services are
available electronically; these include applying for provisional
driving licences, booking driving tests, taking driving theory
tests and buying car tax. During 2006-07, some 50 million
transactions were handled electronically.
By introducing electronic versions of these services, customers
benefit from increased availability and a reduction in turnaround
time. All the services examined by the NAO are achieving high
levels of customer satisfaction. For example, 93 per cent of
customers who paid their car tax, 88 per cent of candidates
applying for their provisional driving licence, and 97 per cent of
those booking the driving theory test online or using the phone
were satisfied with the service. There should also be savings of at
least £33 million (after taking account of development costs).
Although overall take up for electronic services is high, and in
some cases exceeded expectations, others have missed their original
forecasts. For example, in 2006-07, while 85 per cent of those
upgrading from a provisional to a full driving licence have done so
electronically, only 4 per cent of those applying for a provisional
driving licence did so, against a forecast of 25 per cent.
Of those who applied for a provisional driving licence online,
around 90 per cent were unable to complete their transaction
electronically. Many of these are teenagers who currently do not
possess either a credit record or a digital passport, needed in
order to complete the process online. Each electronic application
that subsequently needs to be completed using paper forms costs £1
more to process than the traditional paper-based application.
In some cases, the agencies had to revise estimates of financial
savings since the initial evaluation. For instance, the financial
benefits of introducing car tax sales online were recalculated to
account for changes to fees charged by the Post Office and some
online services were introduced later than planned – in most cases
by less than a year, although the commercial vehicle operators’
electronic service was delayed by almost three years.
The Driving Standards Agency and the Driver and Vehicle
Licensing Agency phased the introduction of their services in line
with good practice and made extensive use of customer feedback.
The report found there was scope to increase take up, make
further efficiencies and generate savings. For example, more new
drivers might be able to apply for a provisional driving licence
online should the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency be able to
use other online checks to validate identity.
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, said
today:
“Bringing services online can save money and raise the
quality of the service received. I am pleased to see that, by
following good practice, the Agencies have improved the service
they offer drivers. However, there is scope for improvement, and I
would urge the Department to continue to evaluate current pilots
and investigate ways of using the technology to further improve the
services offered.”
Notes for Editors:
- Press notices and reports are available from the date of
publication on the NAO website, which is at www.nao.org.uk. Hard
copies can be obtained from The Stationery Office on 0845 702
3474.
- The Comptroller and Auditor General, Sir John Bourn, is the
head of the National Audit Office which employs some 850 staff. He
and the NAO are totally independent of Government. He certifies the
accounts of all Government departments and a wide range of other
public sector bodies; and he has statutory authority to report to
Parliament on the economy, efficiency and effectiveness with which
departments and other bodies have used their resources.
Press Notice 01/08
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