DVLA makes 91,000 people wait over a year for a new driver's license

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Nearly 100,000 'medical licensing' cases since April 2020 have been delayed by more than a year as the Swansea DVLA tries to clear a backlog driver's license Covid< /p> The DVLA call center in Swansea, which has experienced a Covid backlog

Nearly 100,000 people with medical conditions have waited over a year to get a new driver's license.

Damning report says DVLA failing to process 'medical license' decisions in time after vast Covid backlog.

From April 2020 to September this year, 36% of medical clearance cases took more than 90 business days, and 6% took more than 250 business days.

This means around 91,000 "medical license" cases since April 2020 have been delayed for more than a year, the National Audit Office said.

Public Accounts Committee Chair Meg Hillier said the DVLA was "unprepared" for Covid and "ordinary citizens have paid the price" with "unacceptable delays".

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Applications could still come to a halt this winter - as union bosses announced on Thursday if DVLA staff decided to strike over wages.

91,000 "medical license" cases since April 2020 have been delayed for more than a year (

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The Public and Commercial Services Union will announce the result of a mass ballot in 214 departments, including the Passport Office and the DWP.

The backlog has built up over a dispute over how to safely return to their Swansea HQ during Covid.

Swansea East MP Carolyn Harris told the Mirror: 'Those involved in the cases are doing their best, but the system is flawed.

"The way they handled [Covid] when it first happened was appalling. We had senior managers telling people they had to be at work and being scared to be in the office ."

Ms Harris warned it would be a 'travesty' if DVLA jobs were cut in next week's autumn statement.

"I worked in the Hall of Letters when I was 16 for my first job after school. There aren't many people here who haven't worked there," she said.