Driving: Medical Examinations

Department for Transport written question – answered at on 20 April 2017.

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Photo of Jessica Morden Jessica Morden Opposition Whip (Commons)

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average waiting time for a fitness-to-drive assessment by the DVLA was (a) for each licensing group, (b) due to sudden disabling events and (c) due to DVLA notification by drivers or healthcare professionals in each year since 2010.

Photo of Andrew Jones Andrew Jones Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) deals with more than 600,000 medical cases every year. The length of time taken to deal with an application depends on the medical condition and whether further information is required from medical professionals.

The DVLA has made major improvements in this area, including introducing an electronic service which allows drivers to notify the DVLA online about certain medical conditions. The DVLA has recruited 100 extra casework staff as well as more doctors to deal with complex cases. Three nurses have also been employed to help deal with certain cases and further recruitment is underway.

A dedicated team has been put in place which is responsible for continuous improvement of medical driver licensing services and communications. Letters to customers and medical professionals have been improved, helping to ensure that the DVLA receives the information it needs as quickly as possible.

These changes have produced significant and sustainable improvements. The table below shows the average number of working days taken to make a licensing for all medical cases since 2014/15. Comparable information prior to April 2014 about the time taken to make a licensing decision is not available as the way this information is recorded changed at that time. Specific information on the time taken to make a licensing decision for each driver licensing group, following a sudden disabling event or a notification to the DVLA by drivers or health professionals is not readily available.

April 2014 - March 2015

April 2015 - March 2016

April 2016 - March 2017

58

53

37

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