When goverment departments fail, what should happen?

[ericmark]

Colvid19 has caused many problems, and people have tried to work through them, but when a government building has around ¼ of its staff catch Colvid19 clearly there has been some real failure.

So we have the DVLA in Swansea with industrial action which one can hardly blame them for, it has clearly got out of control.

However the rest of the country still needs to move around, we had an 11 months auto addition to licence expiry dates up to 20th December, but that has now likely resulted in double the work to catch up, so we have people who simply don't know if they can drive or not.

Rule 88 allows one to continue to drive if you have made a valid application, however until you get the licence you don't know if that application is valid.

The problem is insurance, if some one drives only to find out their application was not valid, then it also means they are not insured, so it would seem it needs an official government directive to say as it did before there is a 11 month or what ever time they think required allowance for people who's licence has simply expired.

It should not be up to the individual to say I think I have done it right so I am driving while I wait.

 

[conny]

If other 'companies' fail to take adequate measures to try and prevent infection of it's employees, or any other person who has a right to enter their premises, they can face fines of around £20,000
For some reason government departments seem to get away scot free.

 

[just pumps]

Define valid application for me because as I see it if the form is correct filled in then it is valid.

 

[ericmark]

At last some one who thinks the same way as me. If I had a paper licence for 50 years why should one need any signatures, utility bills, or other stuff to show your still the person who passed that test?

I have taken 5 driving tests, two on motor bikes, two with cars, and one with a class II HGV why now worry as to if I am me? In last 50 years I have been caught once for speeding, and even that was not correct, so why at 70 say I need all this paper to say I am me?

 

[SirGalahad]

Colvid19 has caused many problems, and people have tried to work through them, but when a government building has around ¼ of its staff catch Colvid19 clearly there has been some real failure.

So we have the DVLA in Swansea with industrial action which one can hardly blame them for, it has clearly got out of control.

However the rest of the country still needs to move around, we had an 11 months auto addition to licence expiry dates up to 20th December, but that has now likely resulted in double the work to catch up, so we have people who simply don't know if they can drive or not.

Rule 88 allows one to continue to drive if you have made a valid application, however until you get the licence you don't know if that application is valid.

The problem is insurance, if some one drives only to find out their application was not valid, then it also means they are not insured, so it would seem it needs an official government directive to say as it did before there is a 11 month or what ever time they think required allowance for people who's licence has simply expired.

It should not be up to the individual to say I think I have done it right so I am driving while I wait.

I don't blame them I think they had 600 cases in one office. The irony being that by centralising everything they compounded the impact of a virus that thrives in areas of concentrated people.

You make a good point and I am sure Insurance companies will use every excuse not to pay out.

 

[SirGalahad]

At last some one who thinks the same way as me. If I had a paper licence for 50 years why should one need any signatures, utility bills, or other stuff to show your still the person who passed that test?

I have taken 5 driving tests, two on motor bikes, two with cars, and one with a class II HGV why now worry as to if I am me? In last 50 years I have been caught once for speeding, and even that was not correct, so why at 70 say I need all this paper to say I am me?

I believe at 70 its due to the licence is only renewed every 3 years.

Also if your application is done online and is for a renewal there is not much of a delay as there is no human input / interaction. I have been reading that if you have to send documents in or a paper application then it can take months with no idea what is happening.

But cutting costs and services does mean the costs end up elsewhere.

 

[Ihavenojob]

If their work is computer based, can't they work from home ?

 

[Doug99]

Since the outbreak the DVLA has regularly been inspected by Swansea Council and NHS Wales and confirmed their offices are now, and have been for many months 'Corvid Safe'. The PCS union think otherwise, and whilst the rest of the country are screaming to get back to normality, the union continues to call strikes which only go to increase the backlog in issue of driving licences, V5s etc and more importantly the return of ID docs to customers.

 

[transam]

DVLA is not fit for purpose

full of pencil pushing dead beats who lack common sense

all those going on strike should be sacked

 

[ericmark]

I believe at 70 its due to the licence is only renewed every 3 years.

Also if your application is done online and is for a renewal there is not much of a delay as there is no human input / interaction. I have been reading that if you have to send documents in or a paper application then it can take months with no idea what is happening.

But cutting costs and services does mean the costs end up elsewhere.

I did an on line application which then caused them to send an on line form through the post asking for photo and proof I am who I say I am. I thought on line mean using internet, but it seems it uses postal service.

I all started off with a change of address, so considering I have told them of change of address, to ask for a picture to be signed by non relative who has known me three years when no permitted to travel to old home area does seem a bit daft, specially with a limit of 21 days to return paperwork, this it seems was extended to 60 days due to Colvid19, but they are sending stuff to new address, but when I check on line, it says error if I use new post code, even when first reply to my new address was 21st January, I can only get a result on line using old post code.

It seems it is the on line bit which is not working more than the paper bit.

Reading it seems to say I can drive while waiting, as long as I have made a valid application, but until they tell me I don't know if the application is valid, so it is all down to police and courts bending the rules to allow people to drive when there is no way to know if they have a licence. This all at a time when bus and train services also disrupted due to Colvid19, there were 3 trains a day 5 days a week before Colvid19, now you can't catch the train in Welshpool even when it goes that far, as it has been classed as a tourist attraction so has closed Welshpool station.