To ask the Minister of the Environment whether his Department plans to reduce the cost of driving licences for motorists, following the announcement by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency that fees will be reduced from October 2014.

The administration of driver licensing in Northern Ireland is expected, as far as possible, to be a self-financing service, with costs recovered through fee income. These costs include salaries, maintenance, support and development of the IT system, production of the licence, postage and the payment of fees for certain medical assessments. The licence fees are varied according to the complexity of individual transactions.

Following a public consultation, driving licence fees were increased on 18 October 2012 which resulted in a gap across a range of transactions between the fees charged in NI compared to those charged in GB. This gap exists largely due the lack of economies of scale for recovering the costs of processing driver licences locally. I am also aware that DVLA recently introduced a reduction in their fees that has further widened the gap between NI and GB. I understand that the DVLA have indicated that they have been able to reduce their fees through developments in technology, with the ability to offer online transactions.

However, I can advise that the Driver & Vehicle Agency (DVA) is currently developing a new driver licensing IT system to be delivered by April 2016. This system will improve the customer experience, deliver service efficiencies and will enable online processing. This will provide an opportunity to review the fees currently charged for the processing of driver licences.