§ Mr. BoswellTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to improve the acceptability abroad of British driving licences; and if he will take steps to press for an extension of the validity of international driving permits.
§ Mr. Peter BottomleyFrom next april DVLC will begin issuing a new-style pink driving licence which will in due course show all of an individual's driving entitlement—motor cycles, cars, lorries and buses—on a single licence. The vehicle categories on the driving licence will broadly conform to the categories used on international driving permits (IDPs), and the design of the licence will correspond very closely to the Community model prescribed in the first directive on driver licensing. Although we are unaware of any significant problems with international recognition of the current pink driving licence, the new licence should be even more acceptable and intelligible to overseas authorities.
The maximum period of validity of an IDP is laid down in the international conventions governing their issue. It is not within the United Kingdom's competence to extend the validity of IDPs unilaterally.