On 13 December staff of DVLA Local Offices (LO) throughout the UK were told that
all LOs would close during 2013. This action will remove all face to face
contact between the public and DVLA staff.

This will cause problems for historic vehicle owners. In its latest newsletter,
the FBHVC ( http://fbhvc.co.uk )has a list of some of the services that can
currently only be done at DVLA local offices:

Taxing an historic vehicle for the first time;

Authentication of copy documentation for transmission to Swansea in lieu of
valuable originals;

Same day receipt of replacement tax discs for lost or stolen discs;

Same day receipt of tax discs for taxing at short notice (including paper
MoT and insurance cover notes);

Taxing vehicles where there is also a change of taxation class e.g.
unlicensed to historic, PSV to PLG;

Taxing a vehicle exempt from MoT (We wonder how long Post Offices will be
able do this?);

Reinstatement of an original registration number where this had been
replaced at some time in the past but has remained dormant;

Inspection of vehicles which require an age related number or a chassis
number;

Inspection of imported vehicles requiring UK registration.

The FBHVC also comments:
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Briefly, the DVLA stance is that the progress of computerisation needs to
continue. To quote: "This means driving forward existing services such as
increasing take up of driver services on-line. It also means making other
transactions available electronically where this is cost effective and
maximising uptake by making them as user friendly as possible".

The consultation majors on increasing use of their existing vehicle licence
transactions on-line (and telephone) services, but their (loaded) figures
actually show that more than 50% of private users do not avail themselves of
these facilities. Their so-called customer survey was based on on-line users
only, ignoring the majority who do not, or cannot, use this facility for their
transaction. There are vague promises to engage with 'intermediaries' but
whether this is to provide computer access only, or a genuine replacement for
end users with queries is also unclear. For individuals who are not computer
literate are unlikely to use a DVLA provided facility.
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It's not only historic vehicle owners who'll suffer. It cause problems
throughout the motor trade too. There's widespread opposition to the proposal
from both the motor trade and public services unions (the closures will cause
the loss of 1,200 jobs.)

There's an on-line petition at http://www.savethedvla.co.uk/ . You can also
respond to the consultation. Hard copies of the consultation are available by
writing to:
Corporate Affairs Directorate,
D16,
DVLA,
Swansea,
SA6 7JL.
(The consultation did not provide a contact name or phone number.) To respond
on-line go to http://www.dft.gov.uk/dvla/ then click on 'consultation'. The
consultation closes on 6 March 2012.