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Bungling DVLA claims it’s ‘a great place to work’

Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Which government agency has performed the worst in this pandemic? It’s a difficult question to answer. The Passport Office has its critics; delays at HMRC have meant tax rebates have gone months overdue. But for Steerpike’s money, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is hard to beat. In March, the Times reported that some 3,400 civil servants there had done no work on full pay for significant periods of the pandemic. Some staff even boasted to undercover reporters that they had watched Netflix at the expense of the public, all while thousands waited for their driving applications to be processed.

Still, such public embarrassments appear to be of little concern to those still employed there. Earlier this month the DVLA published its business plan for 2022-23 and it seems that the controversies of the past haven’t exactly blunted the agency’s opinion of itself. According to the plan, Britain’s most hated agency is a ‘great place to work’ with a ‘modern working environment’ which ‘provides staff with the opportunities to develop the skills and capabilities necessary to provide “best in class” customer service.’ Julie Lennard, who has served as chief executive of the agency since 2018, extols the virtues of the DVLA’s workforce in her foreword, writing:

We are nothing without the 6,000 plus people who make up the DVLA family and we will continue to invest heavily in our workforce, including by introducing smarter working practices with flexible working options where possible.

Truly the embodiment of ‘smarter working.’ Lennard’s 2022-23 Business Plan states that ‘staff development will continue to be one of our key focuses’ and notes the DVLA’s ‘strong record of supporting employee wellbeing.’ Well, that’s one way of putting it. There’s also a section titled ‘customer-centric’ which claims that the DVLA will ‘continue to assess ourselves against high standards for customer service.’ As for strategic goals, the DVLA hopes to ‘retain the Customer Service Excellence Standard’ – despite its best efforts this past year. Elliot Keck, investigations campaigns manager of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, told Mr S: ‘ Taxpayers have been driven round the bend by the DVLA’s endless failures. This shows that the DVLA still has its head buried firmly in the sand.’

Unsurprisingly, there’s little sign of any change soon: an advert for the agency’s new £48,000-a-year ‘Head of Pay, Reward and HR Policy’ makes clear that the lucky recruit will be offered a ‘flexible working pattern.’ Indeed, the closest the agency comes to humility is the introduction by the agency’s non-executive chair, Lesley Cowley, which notes that ‘in some areas of our business… unfortunately our customer service levels dipped below the high standards we pride ourselves on.’ That’s saying something.

Update: A DVLA spokesman gets in touch with Mr S to say that ‘In 2021 the PCS Union chose to undertake industrial action which deliberately targeted the parts of DVLA that would have the greatest impact on customers. Despite this and a number of issues we are now back to normal processing times.’ Good to know…

Steerpike
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Steerpike

Steerpike is The Spectator's gossip columnist, serving up the latest tittle tattle from Westminster and beyond. Email tips to steerpike@spectator.co.uk or message @MrSteerpike

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