driving – Page 16 – The NEN – North Edinburgh News

Driving licence fees ‘slashed’ from next week

Driving licence fees to be cut by up to a third

Drivers will save up to £150 million over the next ten years as the cost of getting a driving licence is slashed, Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander and Transport Minister Claire Perry announced today.

The changes, which follow a recent public consultation, come into force from 31 October 2014. Drivers applying online will see the fee for a provisional driving licence fall from £50 to £34 and online renewals after ten years fall from £20 to £14. The fee for driver tachograph cards – used by businesses to record how far their staff are driving – will fall from £38 to £32.

Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander said: “Giving savings back to the taxpayer is a key element in this government’s drive for a stronger economy and a fairer society. That’s why we’re slashing the cost of getting a driving licence and giving it straight back to young people and businesses, saving £150 million over ten years.”

Transport Minister Claire Perry said: “The cost of driving, especially for young drivers, can be significant and we are committed to cutting costs where we can. Thanks to DVLA making large scale savings to their running costs, we have been able to cut the cost of the driving licence which will save drivers and businesses £150 million over the next ten years.”

DVLA is reviewing all fees and the reduction in driving licence fees is a result of the first part of this ongoing review. Other fees being considered in the review include vehicle first registrations and duplicate registration certificates.

A million ‘first licence’ applications are processed every year and the fees drop will save new drivers £82.2 million over ten years. Over 77% of these applications are made by 17-24 year olds. In addition 2.1 million photocard licences are renewed every year and the changes will save motorists £61.3 million over a decade.

Businesses make another 85,500 renewals a year and will save £2.44 million over ten years while the cost savings to tachographs will save another £3.58 million over the decade.

Type of licence	Current fee	New fee online	New fee postal application
Provisional licence	£50	£34	£43
Renew Photocard licence	£20	£14	£17
Driver and Company Tachograph cards	£38	Postal service only	£32

Driving licence fees set to fall

Driving licence fees are set to fall by up to 32% under plans announced by Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander and Transport Minister Claire Perry.

The proposals are contained in a public consultation on driver licensing fees. The consultation sets out a proposed reduction in driving licence fees of 32% for digital transactions and 15% for paper applications.

As part of the proposals, drivers who apply online for their first driving licence would see the fee drop from £50 to £34. Drivers who renew their licence after 10 years would see the fee drop from £20 to £14. All driver tachograph cards would fall from £38 to £32.

Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander said: “I have been working hard to drive savings across the whole public sector and it’s great to see the benefit of these efficiencies feed through to drivers and businesses pockets. What the DVLA have shown today is that you can do more for less.”

Transport Minister Claire Perry said: “The cost of driving can be significant, especially for new drivers. I’m pleased to say that we are planning to save drivers £18m a year by cutting licence fees, thanks to the DVLA making significant savings to their running costs.”

The proposals are expected to save drivers nearly £18 million and the industry around £2 million every year.

DVLA is currently reviewing all the fees they charge to motorists and the consultation launched today is the first step in this ongoing review. The consultation (document attached below) closes on 25 August 2014.

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DVLA reveals top ten tax disc excuses

DVLA reveals top ten excuses for not buying a tax disc

A motorist who claimed to have taken so much Viagra he could not leave the house was just one of a number of excuses from people who failed to tax their car last year.

According to information released by Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) yesterday (28 July), motorists caught for not having a tax disc last year used a variety of incredible excuses – and the organisation has compiled a Top Ten.

Among the reasons cited for failure to tax a vehicle, how about: ‘My mate said that if the cost of the tax is more than what the car’s worth you haven’t got to pay it!’

One motorist claimed to have fallen out of a tree while fruit picking and broke both arms so they could not fill in the necessary forms, while another motorist even blamed their mobile phone.

Carolyn Williams, DVLA’s Head of Digital Services, said: “The vast majority of people tax their car on time but it amazes me to see the excuses people come up with. It’s easier than ever before for people to tax their car and our digital services are designed to be used any time of day or night to fit in with people’s lifestyles – so there really is no need for silly excuses.”

The 10 silliest excuses:

My accountant told me I’m due a tax rebate so I didn’t think I needed to pay again this year.
I was on my way to the Post Office to tax the car and called into the betting shop – there was a horse running at Doncaster called ‘Don’t Do It’ so I bet on that with my car tax money instead – it lost.
My mate said that if the cost of the tax is more than what the car is worth you haven’t got to pay it – it’s not, so I didn’t.
I fell out of a tree picking plums and broke both my arms.
I took too much Viagra and couldn’t leave the house.
I’d forgotten the motorbike was in my garage – it was hidden behind the BBQ so it’s not my fault.
I had man flu and couldn’t go to the Post Office.
I’ve been out of the country for four months and I forgot where I parked my car.
My dog ate the reminder.
My reminder on my phone didn’t work so it’s not my fault

The quickest and easiest way to tax a vehicle is to go online or ‘phone 0300 123 4321. It’s a fully automated system and should take no more than 4 minutes. Vehicles must either be taxed or declared off-road – this is done by making a Statutory Off Road Notification (SORN).