Conclusions and recommendations
Effect of structural reorganisation on service users
1.
It is important that the Government monitors the outcomes of reform
of the motoring agencies to ensure the expected benefits are realised.
(Paragraph 11)
2. We recommend that
the Government make clear its long term agenda for change by setting
out clearly its overall strategy for provision of motoring services.
This should cover all its motoring agencies, demonstrate how the
strategy will make services more unified and deliver efficiencies
and cost savings, and set out a timeline for the further changes
needed to bring about a more unified approach. It should also
justify the different approaches it is promoting for the three
agencies and explain the impact the Department's work on shared
services will have on the agencies. The Department should consider
whether it needs three separate agencies to achieve the streamlined,
largely electronic services it provides. We would like the Government
to expand on its plans for private sector involvement in the provision
of motoring services and how it sees the long term future for
its agencies as monopoly public service providers. The Government
should also make clear the extent to which efficiency savings
will benefit both the users of services through reduced costs
and fees, and the general taxpayer in the form of savings to the
Exchequer. (Paragraph 11)
3. The DVSA should
provide us with a reassurance that the wealth of experience built
up by its vehicle inspectors, examiners and other staff is not
being lost in the course of the merger and the changes it is making
to authorised testing facilities. Similarly, the DVLA should provide
us with a reassurance that it is managing the risks around the
loss of knowledge and experience as it closes local branches.
(Paragraph 12)
4. We are concerned
about the six-month delay in issuing the OJEU notice for the VCA's
private sector partner and seek assurances from the Government
that a partner will be announced on schedule in January 2015.
If there are any further delays to plans to recruit a private
sector partner for the VCA, we would expect the Government to
write to us. (Paragraph 13)
Support for businesses
5. The
DVLA and DVSA respond effectively to the needs of individuals,
who usually undertake only two or three transactions each year
but account for the bulk of the agencies' business. However, on
the basis of the evidence we received they do not adequately meet
the needs of businesses, some of whom undertake hundreds of vehicle
or driver transactions in each year. The agencies need to develop
a better understanding of the needs of their business users, particularly
small fleet owners and operators who play an important part in
economic prosperity. We recommend that DVLA and DVSA develop specific
strategies for responding to the needs of business customers.
In setting out a longer-term strategy for the future of its motoring
agencies, the Government should consider the needs of business
users as well as those of individual motorists. (Paragraph 16)
Driver training
6. If
businesses and drivers must commit time and resource to mandatory
training then that training must be worthwhile and effective.
At the present time this is not the case. (Paragraph 21)
7. Under the current
regulations the Government could not add modules on vulnerable
road users to the Driver CPC or compel drivers to select them.
If the Government unilaterally amended regulations to make such
modules compulsory drivers from other countries using roads in
the UK would not have equivalent training. We recommend that the
Government lobby the European Commission to introduce an amending
Directive to require the inclusion of a compulsory new training
module in the Driver CPC focused on vulnerable road users. (Paragraph
21)
Digital services
8. Digital
services must cater for all users not just individual motorists
and the agencies' assisted digital strategies must help and support
those who cannot access services online. The Department needs
to ensure that its motoring agencies have viable plans for assisted
access, which recognise the distinct needs of individuals and
businesses. The motoring agencies must ensure a good standard
of accessibility to their services is provided to users who are
unable to benefit from investment in digital services. They should
also monitor outcomes and customer feedback to ensure that their
assisted digital strategies are working. (Paragraph 27)
Extending digital services
9. Digital
services are clearly popular and they have the potential to reduce
costs for the taxpayer, motorists and businesses. We recognise
the need for the multi-channel approach that the agencies are
adopting; and lessons learned from the progress made so far should
inform the planning and roll-out of new digital services. Concerns
about digital exclusion and access to services for people who
cannot use online services are valid. The move to digital provision
and recent organisational changes (for example, the closure of
DVLA local branches) have the potential to make access to some
services much more difficult and costly for certain groups of
people and some businesses. The Department and the agencies need
to show how they are addressing these concerns and what steps
they are taking to ensure that there is alternative provision
for those unable or unwilling to use digital services, especially
in the context of changes to local networks and branches. The
Department should also consider the extent to which reliance on
the Post Office and other providers is an adequate means of dealing
with digital exclusion. In addition, digital services must work
seamlessly with those that will continue to require some degree
of physical presence. (Paragraph 30)
Copycat websites
10. It
is illegal to deliberately mislead the public or obtain money
by fraud; the agencies providing services on behalf of the Government
should do everything practicable to prevent users of their services
from being misled or becoming the victims of fraud. Transport
for London's agreement with the DVLA to alert drivers using unofficial
websites is an interesting model that the Department should evaluate
to see how well the approach works and whether it can be extended
to other services. It will be important to understand how much
any alternative approach costs to administer, what effect it may
have on fees for users of services and whether it results in fewer
motorists using unofficial sites. In such an evaluation it will
be important for the Department to consider the effect of the
scheme on unofficial operators and any unintended consequences
for legitimate providers of value-added services. We also ask
the GDS to provide specific details of its progress so far in
identifying and alerting search engines to misleading websites
offering services to motorists, and to report on what enforcement
action has been taken against such sites. (Paragraph 33)
Sharing vehicle keeper data with parking enforcement
companies
11. Protecting
personal data is an issue that people feel strongly about and
the DVLA needs do more to explain to the public the legal basis
for its sharing of personal data and the steps that are being
taken to deal with private parking companies and local authorities
caught misusing parking data; the Government needs to ensure there
is more transparency and better accountability on this issue.
We recommend that the DVLA and Department for Transport consider
whether each vehicle keeper should be told when their data is
released and what more can be done to help target persistent repeat
offenders. The Government needs to be mindful of the costs of
any changes and we would expect it to consult widely on any proposals
it brings forward, including how the costs of any such scheme
could be met. (Paragraph 42)
12. The DVLA should
not subsidise private parking companies by providing data at a
loss, if anything it should err on the side of making a small
surplus. As it reviews its fees and income, the DVLA should consider
whether efficiencies can be made to reduce the cost of processing
these requests. If not, the DVLA should adjust the fee for the
provision of personal data to ensure costs are covered. The DVLA
should make clear on its website how the costs are calculated.
It should also consider whether the enhanced provision of information
to drivers, as recommended above, could be financed through the
fee (Paragraph 43)
Policy changes that increase reliance on the quality,
accuracy and effective sharing of data
13. Interoperability
of systems and the ability to share data with other agencies needs
to be given a high priority by all the motoring agencies. The
motoring agencies should think carefully about what data their
users need, how this can be shared effectively and what safeguards
need to be in place. They should assess policy changes to understand
what impact they may have on data sharing. The need to share and
exchange data needs to be balanced with the protection of personal
data. (Paragraph 48)
Working with enforcement agencies
14. Offenders
need to be caught and dangerous vehicles must be removed from
the road network. An intelligence-led approach to enforcement
that targets the most serious non-compliance and the repeat offenders
depends on access to and the effective sharing of data. We view
this as essential to reduce the likelihood of traffic accidents
and save lives. The Department should drive forward a culture
change in the approach to sharing data between the motoring agencies
and their enforcement partners and should identify the steps that
need to be taken to ensure data is accurate and can be shared
in a timely way to support the work of the agencies and enforcement
bodies. (Paragraph 53)
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