HC Deb 01 February 2002 vol 379 c609W
John Mann

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many rural post offices are barred from handling(a) driving licence and (b) passport applications. [29390]

Mr. Alexander

Acting as an agent, Post Office Ltd. is dependent on the level of service required through post offices by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) and the United Kingdom Passport Agency (UKPA). Currently the UKPA service which checks and dispatches completed passport applications is offered at 2,000 offices and motor vehicle licensing (MVL) services are offered at 4,091 offices. Currently figures indicate that 90 per cent. of people are within one mile of a post office outlet which offers these MVL services.