Corporate report

DVLA Business Plan 2021 to 2022

Published 8 June 2021

0.1 Non-Executive Chair’s introduction

I am pleased to present our Business Plan for 2021-22, which sets out our priorities and how we will measure our performance against those priorities in the year ahead.

The Business Plan aims to deliver significant progress towards our aim to be the hub for motoring services and towards each of the strategic goals set out in our 2021-2024 Strategic Plan, namely:

• to be customer-centric in the way we deliver our services

• to consolidate our position as a dynamic digital organisation which provides high quality, innovative and secure-by-design services

• to be data driven and to make the best use of the information we hold

• to continue to be a great place to work

As we progress with our coronavirus (COVID-19) recovery, our plans for the coming year are ambitious, with a key focus on continuing to provide excellent customer service. We will look at ways in which we can make the customer journey the best it can be, introducing new digital services where they are needed and continually improving existing services where necessary.

It is going to be an exceptionally busy year ahead, and I look forward to the challenges and successes that I am sure it will bring.

Lesley Cowley OBE, Non-Executive Chair

May 2021

0.2 Chief Executive’s foreword

On 26 April 2021 we published Driving Change our new strategic plan which sets out our goals and vision for the next three years. The plan is ambitious and builds on the excellent work we have done in recent years to make us the dynamic digital organisation we are today. We deal with millions of customers right across the UK and, at its heart, our strategy focusses on providing world class customer service.

Our customers’ needs will drive everything we do which will include expanding and continually improving the many services we offer, including our digital services so people choose to use those rather than posting their applications to us.

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected so many people and businesses across the globe, and like so many others, we certainly felt the impact here at DVLA, especially in relation to the challenge of processing paper applications on site. But with the dedication and determination of our amazing staff we continued to provide essential services to key workers which helped keep the country moving in the most critical of times. With the UK vaccination programme making great progress there are brighter days ahead and I am delighted that we are publishing this Business Plan which details our plans for the year. We are one of the most successful digital organisations’ in government but we have more to do, and we will continue at pace on our digital journey, introducing even more digital services, including taking our first steps towards a DVLA customer account which will put the customer in control of how they access our services.

We hold a vast amount of data at DVLA and we take our responsibility to safeguard that data very seriously. In the coming year we will look at how we can lawfully, safely, and securely share that data with other government departments, including the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency and the Office of National Statistics for improved public services. We will also continue to invest in our people, implementing smarter working initiatives which underpin more flexible working options. We will also continue to invest in our apprenticeship and development programmes to support our talent pipeline of digital and technology specialists.

While there will undoubtedly be challenges, these are incredibly exciting times for DVLA and I look forward to the year ahead.

Julie Lennard, DVLA Chief Executive and Accounting Officer

May 2021

1. Who we are and what we do

1.1 Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency

Our new strategy sets ambitious goals for the next three years based on four overarching strategic aims – to be customer-centric, a dynamic digital organisation, data driven and a great place to work.

This business plan sets out our approach and the key performance measures for the coming financial year and provides a framework to make sure the necessary finance and resources are available to implement our strategic plan.

1.2 Who we are

We are an executive agency of the Department for Transport (DfT). Our core responsibilities are to maintain more than 49 million driver records, 40 million vehicle records and collect around £7 billion a year in vehicle excise duty (VED) on behalf of HM Treasury,

Our aim is to be the hub for motoring services delivering for government and providing reliable, user-friendly services that are simple to use and provide value for money for taxpayers.

As one of the biggest employers in south Wales, we are committed to our staff and the work that we do in our area with local communities to support the development of the skills that we need for the future of DVLA.

1.3 What we do

We process millions of transactions every single month as motorists’ tax their vehicles, pass driving tests, surrender licences, are given or relinquish penalty points by the courts, need tachograph cards or develop medical conditions that may impact their ability to drive.

Vehicle keepers and companies buy or sell cars, register for trade plates, import, export or scrap vehicles, change their names or address when they move offices or house or buy and use personalised number plates. The wide range of services we offer means our work touches on almost every household and many businesses in the UK.

We aim to offer digital services that are so good, people choose to use them over any other channel. The more that people switch to using our digital services, the lower our carbon footprint will be, as we further reduce the amount of paper we need to print and deliver across the UK. We work with businesses, including the motor industry and others, to develop services in ways that help to meet their needs.

Our customers are central to the way we design our services and we aim to improve our existing services by listening to feedback and iteratively improving our services to meet our customers’ needs, whether they are individuals, businesses or other public sector organisations.

The scale and pace of change is growing rapidly, and technology is bringing real benefits in terms of greater automation and the ability to use cleaner fuels. Reducing the impact of carbon on the environment is a key focus, as is improving our use of data to in turn improve and personalise our services. We aim to ensure we are flexible in terms of our services as well as in our approach, so that we can continue to deliver excellent customer service and value for money for the taxpayer.

Safety on the roads is vital. Motorists are legally required to make the right decision if they have a medical condition which may affect their driving by visiting their doctor and telling us as quickly as possible.

2. Plans for 2021 to 2022

Strategic goal and measure
1. Customer-centric		2021 to 2022
1.1 We will dispatch applications made online for a: • driving licence in 3 working days • vehicle registration certificate in 3 working days • tachograph in 3 working days		95%
1.2 *We will dispatch applications made by post for a: • driving licence in 10 working days • vehicle registration certificate in 10 working days • tachograph in 10 working days • vocational driving licence in 10 working days		90%
1.3 *We will provide a full response to formal complaints within 10 days.		95%
1.4 We will provide planned customer IT service availability of: • vehicle tax • vehicle management • personalised registration • driver licensing online services		95%

*Subject to no further COVID-19 disruption

Strategic goal and measure
2. Dynamic digital organisation		2021 to 2022
2.1 We will develop a new First Application provisional licence service to enable customers to upload their signature and photograph with online digital countersignature process		August 2021
2.2 We will introduce a DVLA Customer Account to enable customers to access certain Driver and Vehicle services		March 2022
2.3 We will pilot a new workflow solution for processing medical applications starting with diabetes notifications		October 2021
2.4 We will exceed our total digital and automated interactions		90%

Strategic goal and measure
3. Data driven		2021 to 2022
3.1 To maintain the safe and secure handling of customer data between DVSA and DVLA and to support DVSAs transformation we will deliver a strategic data enquiries solution for agreed services		Ongoing 2021 to 2022
3.2 We will use our data where it is lawful to do so to support the work of Office for National Statistics with Census 21 (England and Wales)		September 2021
3.3 We will share appropriate vehicle data to support enforcement through the Compliant Vehicle Initiative and the Operation Galileo Programme in developing initiatives to combat non-compliance		March 2022

Strategic goal and measure
4. A great place to work		2021 to 2022
4.1 COVID-19 safety, we will: • continuously review the DVLA site to ensure it meets Welsh Government COVID-19 guidance for employers • provide mental health and wellbeing support to staff in the office and working at home		Ongoing 2021-2022
4.2 We will continue the implementation of smarter working initiatives to enable effective flexible working options		March 2022
4.3 We will implement a new telephony platform to offer an improved customer and contact centre experience. This will provide increased opportunities for self-serve and automation, increased scalability and flexibility and provide staff with enhanced customer service and communications tooling		March 2022
4.4 We will continue the rollout of Windows 10 and Microsoft Teams across the agency providing an enhanced suite of communication and collaboration tools and improved working experience for our employees		Ongoing
4.5 We will carry out work to improve the sustainability of/or reduce the environmental impacts of our operational estate and travel by: • meeting the Government Commitment of 25% ULEV fleet vehicles • improving the biodiversity of the estate in line with our Biodiversity Action Plan • putting in place infrastructure to segregate all food waste from general waste and report and measure this food waste • producing a qualitive assessment of the efficient use of water		June 2021 December 2021 September 2021 June 2021
4.6 We will continue to use our apprenticeships and development programmes to provide our digital and technology talent pipeline, working with local education partners in areas such as: • Year in industry • Software Engineering • Cloud Engineering • Ethical Hacking • Software Development Engineering in Test • Business Analysis Totalling a minimum of 22 new recruits • Accounting • HR • Management • Digital learning design Totalling a minimum of 45 new apprentices		Ongoing 2021-2022

2.1 DfT/DVLA commitments 2021-22

Freedom of Information Act – provide a response within 20 working days		90%
Parliamentary questions – provide a response by due date		100%
Ministerial correspondence – provide a response within 8 working days		95%
Official correspondence – provide a response within 20 working days		80%
Prompt payments – payment of invoices within 5 working days		80%

2.2 DFT Policy commitments

Activity		Plans
Clean air zones		We will continue to support the design and delivery of the central charging infrastructure including support for the existing MOUs between JAQU such as access to DVLA vehicle data and associated APIs. We will also continue engagement with JAQU to deliver the transition and stable running of the CAZ service and support the longer-term procurement strategy for the CAZ service.
OZEV grant schemes		We will continue to support the Office for Zero Emission Vehicle (OZEV) grant scheme.
Road Safety		We will carry out the actions agreed and published in the Road Safety statement.
Roads Policing Review		We will continue to work with DfT as part of the Compliant Vehicle Initiative (which now comes under the Roads Policing Review). We will continue to work with DfT to look at data sharing with policing to improve the levels of Insurance, Vehicle keeper registration and Vehicle Excise Duty.
The Government Fleet Commitment		By June 2021, 25% of our car fleets will be ultra-low emission (a vehicle that emits less than 50gCO2/km), working toward a target of 100% by 2030. We will report progress against this commitment as part of the wider Greening Government Commitments.

3. Annexes

Financial forecast		Forecast outturn 2020-21 £ million	Business Plan 2021-22 £ million
Statutory fee income		346	413
Commercial fee income		163	122
Other income		17	24
Total income		526	559
Staff costs		(207)	(220)
Agents’ fees		(62)	(78)
ICT charges		(46)	(50)
Accommodation		(29)	(33)
Consultancy and professional services		(9)	(8)
Postage and printing		(41)	(52)
Depreciation		(9)	24
Other costs		(20)	(23)
Total expenditure		(423)	(477)
Net operating surplus		103	82
Resource DEL		161	127
AME		2	2
Total resource and AME		163	129
Capital		18	21