HL Deb 20 July 2004 vol 664 cc34-5WA
Baroness Masham of Ilton

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will increase the number of telephone lines available at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency. [HL3506]

Lord Davies of Oldham

Telephone lines at DVLA are divided into vehicle services and driver services. To meet the forecast increase in calls in January this year DVLA initially added 60 extra lines to the existing 160 on the vehicle service. The success of the continuous registration led to a far greater than expected demand. As a result DVLA added a further 35 lines in May. This now gives a total of 255 lines for vehicle services.

The demand for DVLA's drivers services has remained within forecast and there are no plans to review the current number of 160 separate lines.