To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the cost per digital transaction of applications for driving licence renewals in October 2018.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the cost per digital transaction for provisional driving licence applications in October 2018.

DVLA’s forecasting is not routinely undertaken at a unit cost level. However, in 2016/17, the cost per digital driving licence renewal and provisional driving licence application was £5.87 and £7.74 respectively. The costs of all driving licence transactions are kept under continuous review.

The DVLA is allowed by law to set fees to cover the total cost of vehicle registration and driver licensing as a whole, rather than for specific transaction types. Some of these services may attract a fee, while others may not if it is beneficial to provide them free of charge. For example, changing personal details is free of charge, in order to encourage customers to comply with their legal requirement to update their driver record. More accurate records are essential to the police and other enforcement agencies dealing with crime reduction and road safety initiatives.