§ Mr. HayesTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the performance figures are for the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Centre in recent years; and what its targets are for 1988–89.
§ Mr. Peter BottomleyThe DVLC has recently issued to all its staff a statement of its performance in a booklet entitled "The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Centre and its local offices—Facts and Figures 1987–88". I am placing copies in the Library.
The DVLC's performance record between 1984–85 and 1987–88 shows:
- (i) an 11.5 per cent. growth in the volume of business handled with an 8.5 per cent. (5,571 to 5,107) reduction in numbers of staff employed;
- (ii) a 10 per cent. reduction in unit costs per transaction (£.1.49 to £1.34);
- (iii) an improved turnround time for work at the centre—turnround has been reduced from 10 days to clear 90 per cent. of the driver and vehicle transactions received to six days for drivers and eight days over three quarters of the year for vehicles;
- (iv) an improved record on the enforcement of vehicle excise duty—a 22 per cent. increase (290,000 to 355,000) in the number of effectively completed cases against evaders with an improved yield to cost ratio from 2.6:1 to 2.9:1.
The DVLC's main performance target for 1988–89 is to improve customer service while absorbing a continued 4 per cent. annual increase in workload and reducing unit costs still further by 2 per cent. in real terms. Turnround performance targets are to maintain drivers system performance at six days to clear 90 per cent. of the transactions received and to improve the vehicles system to eight days over the whole year.
Drivers, vehicle owners and taxpayers will wish to join me in congratulating all concerned on achievements in recent years.