皇冠体育app

Motorists will benefit from a better, quicker service from the DVLA after Roads Minister Mike Penning today (4 July 2012) gave the go-ahead for wide-ranging reforms to improve how the Agency works. Key to the improvements is centralising the DVLA鈥檚 services and making more transactions available online. This will make it easier than ever for people to deal with the agency at a time and place that suits.

This transformation of the DVLA鈥檚 services will result in around 拢26 million year on year saving for the taxpayer.

Today鈥檚 announcement means that the DVLA鈥檚 39 regional offices will close. It is hoped that some of the staff will be able to re-locate to the head office in Swansea. No offices will close until late next year when alternative services will be available either through its contract for front office counter services, online or directly from Swansea. DVLA will now work to help affected staff as a matter of priority.

Roads Minister, Mike Penning said:

皇冠体育app DVLA has been serving motorists for more than 40 years but times and customers鈥� needs change. That is why the agency continues to transform its services to give customers more choice and flexibility while offering best value for money for the taxpayer.

皇冠体育appse changes - developed after carefully listening to views expressed at consultation - will ensure that the agency delivers a smarter service to bring real benefits for the motor industry and every motorist in this country.

I understand that the phased closure of the regional offices will come as a disappointment to those directly affected. I would like to thank the staff in these offices who have played an important part in DVLA service delivery over the years.

DVLA鈥檚 Chief Executive, Simon Tse said:

We are absolutely committed to delivering the best service we can. Our continued movement towards digital transactions and the greater use of other organisations to deliver services on our behalf will make it easier for motorists to deal with us in a way that suits them and also reduce significant burden on the motor industry and other stakeholders.

A top priority for us now is to support our staff who work in our regional offices. We will do everything we possibly can to provide help and guidance during what are clearly uncertain times for them. We are working closely with the Public and Commercial Services union and those members of staff directly affected to explore all avenues, including possible relocation to Swansea or redeployment within the Civil Service.

皇冠体育app reforms announced today follow a public consultation on the transformation of DVLA鈥檚 services. 皇冠体育app DVLA鈥檚 response to the consultation and its Case for Change can be viewed here www.dft.gov.uk/dvla/transformation

皇冠体育app plans will also allow motorists in Northern Ireland to benefit from the same services that motorists in Great Britain have access to. This will give parity of service across the UK.

Key changes as part of the transformation agenda will see:

• Motor dealers able to do far more for their customers using DVLA digital services. This will remove unnecessary burdens on the motorist and enable motor dealers to offer a one stop service in the vast majority of new and used vehicle sales.

• Far greater use of front office services by intermediaries. This will mean that over 1 million licensing applications per year that currently can only be carried out at DVLA鈥檚 39 regional offices will be available via a much wider network of front office services 鈥損otentially up to some 6,000 outlets - cutting travel time for motorists and giving them much greater choice of where they choose to deal with DVLA.

• A step change as more and more of DVLA鈥檚 services become digital.

• 皇冠体育app removal of burden on motor dealers by centralising the printing and despatching of tax discs direct to the registered keeper at DVLA鈥檚 headquarters in Swansea. Currently, motor dealers pay an indemnity to DVLA to store tax discs for the vehicles they register and licence 鈥� this typically amounts to a total of around 拢9 million per year. By removing the burden on motor dealers to store discs, smaller dealers who currently cannot afford the indemnity will benefit and those dealers who currently pay the indemnity will see the advantages by the removal of time consuming administrative burden.

• 皇冠体育app phased closure of DVLA鈥檚 regional offices given the face to face channel at those offices will no longer be necessary for motorists to deal with DVLA. 皇冠体育app work carried out at the 10 regional enforcement centres will be centralised in Swansea. No regional offices will close until alternative delivery channels are up and running. This means that the phased closures will not start until October 2013 and are expected to be completed by December 2013.

Notes to editors

皇冠体育app DVLA became an executive agency of the Department for Transport (DfT) in 1990. Previously known as the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Centre, the organisation has kept centralised records of drivers and vehicles since the early 1970鈥檚. 皇冠体育app DVLA is responsible for maintaining registers of vehicles (36 million) and for drivers (44 million) in GB. 皇冠体育app DVLA supports law enforcement and helps deliver a wide range of road safety initiatives in conjunction with DfT and plays an important role in crime prevention and crime reduction through enforcement, prosecution and intelligence gathering. 皇冠体育app DVLA is responsible for collecting Vehicle Excise Duty (vehicle tax) for HMT, with nearly 拢6 billion collected in 2011/12.

皇冠体育app DVLA employs 6,048 staff with 1,213 affected staff employed in the 39 regional offices and 10 Enforcement Centres across GB. 皇冠体育app 39 regional offices carry out a range of administrative functions such as arranging trade plates for garages, vehicle inspections and personalised registration mark transfers. 皇冠体育app 10 Enforcement Centres carry out a range of back office duties relating to the DVLA鈥檚 enforcement of offences which include failure to tax vehicles, having no motor insurance and for failing to tell the DVLA their vehicle is kept off the road.

皇冠体育app DVLA鈥檚 39 regional offices are located in Beverley, Birmingham, Bournemouth, Brighton, Bristol, Carlisle, Chelmsford, Chester, Exeter, Ipswich, Leeds, Lincoln, London Borehamwood, London Sidcup, London Wimbledon, Maidstone, Manchester, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Northampton, Norwich, Nottingham, Oxford, Peterborough, Portsmouth, Preston, Sheffield, Shrewsbury, Stockton, 皇冠体育appale, Truro, Worcester, Bangor, Cardiff, Swansea, Aberdeen, Dundee, Glasgow, Edinburgh, and Inverness.

皇冠体育app DVLA鈥檚 10 Enforcement Centres are co-located with the regional offices in Birmingham, Bournemouth, Exeter, Glasgow, Chelmsford, Leeds, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Nottingham, Preston and Sidcup.

皇冠体育app following table outlines the proposed closure programme for the regional offices in GB. This plan is subject to change and staffing levels will be kept under review throughout the transformation period. 皇冠体育app viability of each office will be reviewed on a regular basis.

Although not included in the following table, it is expected that the enforcement work, which is currently carried out in 10 of the regional offices will be centralised in Swansea by the end of March 2013.

Date for closure	Offices	Number of staff
31 October 2013	Aberdeen	9
听	Bournemouth	59
听	Brighton	19
听	Carlisle	10
听	Chelmsford	55
听	Edinburgh	24
听	Ipswich	17
听	Lincoln	16
听	Sheffield	23
听	Norwich	15
听	Oxford	10
听	Shrewsbury	18
听	Stockton	21
听	Swansea	30
30 November 2013	Bangor	12
听	Beverley	17
听	Chester	17
听	Dundee	11
听	Exeter	35
听	Inverness	8
听	Maidstone	30
听	Peterborough	24
听	Sidcup	83
听	皇冠体育appale	21
听	Truro	13
听	Worcester	26
31 December 2013	Birmingham	46
听	Borehamwood	29
听	Bristol	29
听	Cardiff	34
听	Glasgow	69
听	Leeds	50
听	Manchester	64
听	Newcastle	48
听	Northampton	57
听	Nottingham	47
听	Portsmouth	20
听	Preston	59
听	Wimbledon	38

皇冠体育app DVLA is working closely with the Public and Commercial Services union and those members of staff directly affected to explore all avenues including possible relocation to Swansea or redeployment within the Civil Service.