Changing the cost of DVSA services for 2021 to 2022: response to consultation
Updated 18 January 2022
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/changing-the-cost-of-dvsa-services-for-2021-to-2022/outcome/changing-the-cost-of-dvsa-services-for-2021-to-2022-response-to-consultation
Summary
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is part of the Department for Transport (DfT). It is responsible for a number of key road safety services, including:
- provision of the driving test
- enforcement of regulations on driving hours and vehicle standards
- provision of MOT tests for heavy goods and passenger vehicles
- overseeing the MOT scheme for tests carried out by commercial garages
In this public consultation, DVSA sought views on its plan to increase the statutory fees that it charges for its services.
Despite the consultation being about increasing fees at a time when the country is recovering from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the overall reaction to the proposals was positive.
68% of respondents said that the proposed increases were fair.
What will happen next
Ministers have agreed to increase most of DVSA’s statutory fees.
To allow time for the necessary changes to regulations, the fee increases will not be introduced until later in 2022.
DVSA will keep you updated on their progress and will let you know, in advance, when fees are going to be increased.
Responses to the consultation
On 5 August 2021, DVSA published an online consultation on increasing the statutory fees for its various services by 1.5%. The consultation ran until 2 September 2021.
Most of DVSA’s fees have not been increased in over a decade, and some have even been reduced in that time.
General observations
2,573 responses were received via the online consultation. A further 4 responses were received by email.
The majority of the responses were from those who have a business that uses DVSA’s services.
Almost 36 % of respondents said that they were Approved Driving Instructors, and just over 30% were from those who run MOT test centres. In addition, 12.4% of the total responses were from the general public.
The following table shows how respondents classified themselves.
| Occupation | Responses as % of total response |
|---|---|
| ADI | 36 |
| MOT tester | 30 |
| General public | 12 |
| Other | 10 |
| Learner/new driver | 5 |
| Haulier | 3 |
| Training organisation | 3 |
| Industry rep | 1 |
Among the representative organisations that provided comments was The Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT) who were very supportive of the idea to put up fees.
They commented that services are generally delivered to a high standard, and this should be maintained, but said that service availability has been poor at times, especially following the pandemic.
They suggested that opportunities for modernisation and efficiency improvements should be discussed with industry stakeholders.
They also suggested that slightly larger fee increases would be acceptable to the industry if such crises could be avoided through investment in improved management, a more flexible workforce and greater resilience.
The chairman of the Motor Schools Association (MSA) GB responded that they largely agree to the fees increase saying:
“I feel these increases are very modest and it would have helped if the increase had been more of a deterrent to people taking driving tests when not fully prepared.”
The Motorcycle Industry Association were in favour of the fee increase, and, in addition to making several proposals for service improvements, said:
“Yes, it is important to ensure both business customers and the public receive a good level of service and are able to benefit from advances in technology.”
The Independent Garage Association also supported the fee increase; they said:
“We feel that ongoing development of DVSA services to keep pace with changes in testing and vehicle technology is important. Inevitably, there must be at some stage a consideration made of increased costs to test stations and how they are able to invest in improvements to the benefit of the MOT scheme both capital and with personnel. This is important to ensure provision of service and choice to consumers and to ensure the industry can fund their own improvements in quality and consistency.”
Ministers would like to thank everyone who contributed to this consultation.
How we’ve used the responses
As part of the consultation DVSA said that, unless the respondents made clear that their responses were to be treated as confidential, at the end of the consultation period, it would publish some of the responses.
This report only quotes comments from respondents who did not request confidentiality. However, the statistical analysis takes account of all the online replies.
Changing the cost of DVSA services for 2021 to 2022
Under this proposal, DVSA would be able to increase the statutory fees that it charges. That would allow it to improve the quality of services that it provides.
We asked a number of preliminary, identifier questions, for example the capacity in which the respondent was replying to the consultation.
Questions asked if the responder agreed or disagreed to the questions relating to DVSA’s proposal to increase its fees. Each question included a selection of options by which the respondent could express their level of agreement or disagreement.
The following charts shows the responses to those questions.
Question 1. Do you support the development of DVSA’s services for a better experience for the customer?
| Response | % of respondents |
|---|---|
| Totally agree | 56.7 |
| Largely agree | 20.8 |
| Slightly agree | 8.6 |
| Slightly disagree | 8.5 |
| Largely disagree | 2.8 |
| Totally disagree | 2.6 |
There were 2,562 responses to this question. 56.7% of respondents ‘totally agreed’ with the development of service.
However, almost 14% fell in one or other of the ‘disagree’ categories, which would suggest that they are happy with DVSA’s usual level of service.
Question 2. Fees have not increased for over a decade. Do you think these modest fee increases are a fair way to ensure current service levels are maintained?
| Response | % of respondents |
|---|---|
| Totally agree | 45.7 |
| Largely agree | 14.4 |
| Slightly agree | 8.3 |
| Slightly disagree | 4.2 |
| Largely disagree | 6.1 |
| Totally disagree | 21.1 |
2,537 people responded to this question. 68% of respondents agreed that these small increases are fair, in order to maintain service levels.
Question 3. Do you wish to see the continued delivery of driving and vehicle services to at least the current standard of service?
| Response | % of respondents |
|---|---|
| Totally agree | 63.8 |
| Largely agree | 18.4 |
| Slightly agree | 6.5 |
| Slightly disagree | 6.4 |
| Largely disagree | 2.9 |
| Totally disagree | 2.0 |
There were 2,528 responses to this question. 88.7% agreed and 11.3% disagreed.
Only 2% ‘totally disagreed’ with the current standard, presumably reflecting the challenges that DVSA faced during the periods of lockdown and as we recover from the pandemic.
Question 4. Do you agree with the continuing modernisation of our services to take account of new technology available?
| Response | % of respondents |
|---|---|
| Totally agree | 60 |
| Largely agree | 22.1 |
| Slightly agree | 10.1 |
| Slightly disagree | 4.2 |
| Largely disagree | 2.5 |
| Totally disagree | 1.2 |
2,531 people responded to this question. 92.2% of them agreed that DVSA should continue to modernise its services.
Question 5. Do you have any comments on these proposals?
This question simply asked for comments. All the comments have been reviewed and analysed.
It was clear that most comments fell into a range of categories. For example, some mentioned that now is not the right time to increase fees, and others said that the increase is fair because it is in line with inflation and could be used to modernise services.
So, each comment was classified in regard to its nature. If a comment mentioned more than one aspect then both aspects were attributed.
Although this might not be a strictly empirical analysis, it provides a good indication of respondents’ views. The following table shows the results of this classification.
| Category | Responses |
|---|---|
| Increase is not enough | 182 |
| Fair - in line with inflation | 66 |
| Round figures should be used | 97 |
| Encourages test preparation | 57 |
| Subject to improved services | 173 |
| The fee increase is too much | 9 |
| DVSA is offering a poor service | 143 |
| Waiting times are too high | 98 |
| Wrong time to increase fees | 114 |
| The pandemic | 60 |
Those comments opposing the increases focused on the need to recover from the pandemic and said that now is not the right time to make fee increases.
114 mentioned that driving test waiting times are too long at the moment and 143 said that DVSA has offered a poor service during the pandemic. Only 9 people said that they think that the fee increase is too much.
In contrast, others said that they agreed with the fee increases, provided that they helped DVSA to improve its services.
66 people said that it is fair because it is in line with inflation, but 182 felt that the increase should be more substantial, with 57 saying that an increased driving test fee would help to ensure that learners are more prepared for their test when they take it.
97 people asked if each fee could be rounded to whole figures.
It is clear from this analysis that, whilst there are reservations about the timing, overall respondents are content to see a fee increase provided that services are improved. They feel that the proposed increase is fair, and some would like to see a larger increase.
Comments in favour
Some of the comments in favour were:
“I think it’s trivial you are even asking opinions on a price rise of less than 2% over 10 years. My prices have gone up 25% in 2 years in comparison.”
“Such a small increase for a valuable service. Totally justified.”
“I believe the increase is too modest. If an increase is called for to invest in the service, make it one that affords you greater scope and faster changes IE £65 for the test not just 90 pence.”
“The proposed increases are very minimal. Would it not make more sense to increase the income to the DVSA so as to improve services rather than to sustain current levels?”
“I answered ‘Slightly agree’ with regard to the maintenance of services at current levels, however, I would be happy to see fees increased by more if it would help to provide more theory test and practical test availability (in terms of opening test centres for longer and on more days).”
“I think that the fees should have increased modestly every year, instead of being frozen for a decade. Nevertheless, inflation is a reality, costs increase, even with low inflation, so I believe fees should be increased modestly every year henceforth.”
“You should be increasing your fees in line with inflation every year. To enable the organisation to be able to keep up with your own training and investment for the future demands that consecutive governments make on your organisation and expect you to deliver on a shoestring.”
“My personal view is, seeing that the fees have not altered for a decade the DVSA could put up the fees a little higher than 1.5%. Maybe round the prices up for example £64 for a car practical test and £25 for a theory test and this would give the DSVA more opportunity to give better services where necessary help with the recruitment for more examiners to conduct tests.”
“In my view, whilst not disagreeing with increases, surely it would be better to increase all fees by round £ ‘s to avoid introducing the need to use pence in calculations.”
“I agree that the fee should increase. In fact, if it’s high enough then maybe candidates would take a more considered approach as to whether they are ready to drive alone and be safe on the roads.”
“I cannot understand why you would bother changing the costs unless there is a worthwhile benefit in the revenue. You have said they have not changed for a decade, so at least make sure you cover your costs of change plus a worthwhile margin.”
DVSA acknowledges these comments. Future work on re-balancing its fees will be aimed at avoiding a shortfall in funds and funding future services.
Comments not in favour
Among the less favourable comments were these:
“I don’t think the increased cost should be passed to learner drivers as it is already extremely expensive to learn to drive.”
“Strongly disagreeing on grounds of closing Theory Test centres, shortened tests when Serious Fault occurs, lack of Test availability and Cancellation Apps forcing learners to subscribe to have any chance of finding a cancellation themselves. Although the increase is small it’s totally the wrong time to even consider it. Sort things first then have the consultation.”
“Considering the scarcity of facilities in rural areas the proposed increases come with no benefits to rural training organisations. The lack of tests in busy periods needs addressing, the lack of motorcycle ready test centres needs addressing and the DVSAs apparent focus on metropolitan districts requires attention. In remote areas it is a struggle to maintain viability. These proposals appear to increase costs with no real benefit to us, so no, we do not support your ‘modest’ increase as there has been no increase in the quality of service provided to us in the past decade.”
“All be it due to Covid, fees cannot justifiably increase until the level of service increases. The theory booking in Scotland is a shambles and test availability is almost non-existent. Pupils are travelling into England just for a test. Practical tests are over straight away when a serious/dangerous error occurs, meaning the student isn’t getting full value for money for the period they’ve paid for in some cases.
Until ALL services are resumed to pre Covid levels, they should stay as they are.”
“I think in fairness the increase should be held back for 12 months. There are so many students unable to get tests at the moment due to a massive backlog and no sign of it getting easier to increase the fees is an insult to them whilst this is happening.”
The government and DVSA are working hard to address some of these issues. However, it is some ten years since fees have last risen. Increases of this nature would help to maintain current service levels and enable DVSA to work towards improving services and resolving some of the issues mentioned above.
Question 6. Do you have any comments on the impact assessment?
DVSA has produced an impact assessment to assess the affect that fee increases might have on business and on wider society. Most of the 692 who responded did not have specific comments on the impact assessment.
Other respondents repeated points that were made in the overall comments. DVSA will use any specific information about the costs and benefits of this proposal to inform and, if necessary, modify the impact assessment.
Finally, it should be noted that many of those who responded to the consultation were connected to MOT garages.
Whilst there was support for the proposed fee increases many wanted to see a rise in the maximum fee they were allowed to charge for an MOT. A total of 533 comments were made on this. DVSA will take on board these comments for further consideration.