DVSA dawns
Roads Minister, Stephen Hammond, has launched the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), bringing together a range of motoring services including driving tests, goods and passenger vehicle testing, operator licensing and the supervision of MOTs.
The agency has been formed by the merger of the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) and the Driving Standards Agency (DSA).
Its aim is to provide more convenient and cost effective services for motorists.
The merger follows a consultation last year looking at how the government can reform its motoring services agencies to put customers first, reduce costs and improve consistency. DVSA will be responsible for setting, testing and enforcing driver and vehicle standards in Great Britain and employs over 4,000 staff.
This year it will conduct 1.5m theory tests and 1.6m practical driving tests; it will be responsible for regulating 28m MOT tests and will carry out 137,000 roadside inspections; it will issue 87,000 operator licenses and will test and inspect 790,000 commercial vehicles.
DVSA Chief Executive, Alastair Peoples, said, ‘By bringing testing and standards services into a single agency we will make life easier for customers by putting them at the heart of the services they rely on and providing a more coherent approach to service delivery. The two former agencies were already undertaking work to make driver and vehicle testing more flexible and convenient for customers. DVSA will continue to keep pace with customers’ needs and deliver services in a way which is both convenient and cost effective.’