§ Mr. Beithasked the Secretary of State for Transport whether he is satisfied with the speed of processing applications for provisional driving licences, especially with the delays caused in cases where the driver and vehicle licensing centre incorrectly processes applications; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mrs. ChalkerYes, I am satisfied in general with the speed of processing applications for provisional driving licences. The driver and vehicle licensing centre is currently issuing the vast majority of licences within 10 working days of receipt of the application.
Applications which take longer are those which involve medical inquiries or which contain incomplete or inaccurate particulars which require clarification with the applicant before a licence can be issued. Delays caused by errors on the part of the centre are regretted, but I have no evidence that these occur in more than a very small proportion of the total cases. If the hon. Gentleman has any specific cases in mind, I hope he will let me have details as soon as possible.