§ Mr. AtkinsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received from registered driving instructors on the promotion and advertising of the British School of Motoring on the provisional licence form DVLA; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. ChopeSeveral representations have been received about the BSM literature which was enclosed with provisional driving licences as separate inserts together with a market research questionnaire between 6 September and 4 October.
The DVLA has been aware for some time of the potential for adding to its revenue to help offset the costs of its work by offering space within its mailing facilities to companies and organisations who may wish to publicise their activities and products. Market research was therefore commissioned to help determine whether this facility should he offered and specifically whether DVLA's customers would welcome or object to this.
DVLA joined with a marketing company who were prepared to help with a study on making the best use of agency's data base to generate income of which a major part might be the use of the mailing facilities. The marketing company provided DVLA with consultancy help at no cost to the public purse, and for the purpose of the trial, DVLA included inserts from BSM who were part of the company's existing client base. Recipients were asked to complete a questionnaire to be returned to DVLA indicating whether they would welcome similar mailshots in the future if this helped keep down the cost of the driver licence.
The BSM material did not carry any departmental or Agency logo and this was reinforced during the trial by the inclusion in the questionnaire of a specific disclaimer.
The market research undertaken has provided sufficient evidence to enable DVLA to take a judgment on the future of the mailing service. In evaluating the results careful account will he taken of representations which have been received.