§ Mr. John Pageasked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will give an estimate, based on previous years, of the numbers of people who are being kept waiting for provisional driving licences due to the current dispute.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeOn 19 June 1981 the number of people awaiting first provisional driving licences due to current industrial action at the Driver and Vehicle Licencing Centre, Swansea was estimated to be about 300,000. In addition, there were about 400,000 applications for renewal of provisional licences.
As the law stands, first-time applicants are not entitled to drive until they have received a licence. We very much regret the inconvenience this is causing and we are taking powers through the Transport Bill to help them.
People who have already held a provisional licence are entitled to drive as soon as a valid application for a renewal has been put in, regardless of whether they have received the new licence in return, and we propose to put applicants for first licences in the same position.