HC Deb 16 June 2004 vol 422 cc932-3W
Mr. Carmichael

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people were informed by the Driving and Vehicle Licensing Agency that they are required to resit their driving test because they failed to apply for a full licence within two years of passing their original test in each year since 1997. [177491]

Mr. Jamieson

Information is not collected showing the number of drivers who have failed to claim their full entitlement within two years and have needed to retake their driving test. The Agency has tackled this in varying ways, including the issuing of reminders to drivers with unclaimed entitlement and more recently by adjusting the fee structure to allow updated licences to be issued free of charge.

DVLA and DSA will introduce a scheme later this year to streamline the process and remove the problem of unclaimed test passes. In most cases, the system will allow the updated licence to be issued automatically following a successful test, without the need for a separate application.