§ Mr. GardinerTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what procedures are in place at the DVLA to stop documents being stolen when they are being returned to the DVLA because the addressees have moved. [135119]
§ Mr. JamiesonDVLA expects to issue approximately 16 million vehicle registration documents and over six million driving licences this year. On past experience, less than half of 1 per cent. of this (around 110,000 items) mail will be found by Royal Mail to be undeliverable and will be returned to the Agency.
Undelivered mail is opened under secure conditions at DVLA and the contents dealt with according to strict handling procedures. A check of DVLA records is made to compare the name and address shown with that provided by the customer. If a contact telephone number is present, the customer is contacted. Where discrepancies are identified, the problem is corrected and documents re-sent. If no error has been made, the documents are held securely for a time to allow the customer to contact the Agency. Where no further contact is received, the documents are destroyed under secure conditions.
Undelivered identity documents, e.g. passports and birth certificates, are collected by staff from a specific team. Where no address discrepancies are present, these documents are also held securely pending contact from the customer. Where no contact is forthcoming, documents are returned to their issuing authorities, the relevant embassies or to the Home Office as appropriate.