§ Ms. RuddockTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is his policy regarding charging drivers over 70 years of age a fee every three years to renew their driving licences; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Chope[holding answer 6 December 1991]: The driver licensing system is required to be self-financing. It is 310W currently in deficit and will continue to be so unless the fee structure is revised. The main reasons for this are the sharp reduction in the number of 17-year-olds who are applying for first provisional driving licences—and provide the main source of income to the driver licensing system—and the increase in the number of drivers at age 70 and over who are renewing their licences.
Unless the fee base is broadened, the first applicants will have to pay a substantially higher fee and will bear an increasingly disproportionate amount of the cost of running the system.
The balance of equity within the new fee structure has been supported generally in public consultation. The new £6 fee for the over-70s renewal remains less than the average cost of dealing with applications from this age group. The cost of expensive medical examinations, often required at the Secretary of State's request, continue to be paid by DVLA. The over-70s are more likely to require these examinations and therefore benefit most from this continuing cross-subsidy within the system.