Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:19 pm on 17 May 2022.
We heard earlier from the leader of Plaid Cymru of the risk of cuts to public services that are controlled by the UK Government, including the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency. One of my constituents, who's waiting to renew her short-term licence, which, because of her medical condition, she has to renew every three years, but unlike certain conditions like epilepsy and diabetes, she's unable to do an online application; she has to wait for the DVLA to send out her invitation to renew. And at the moment, (a) that arrived late, and (b) her GP is currently saying they're still not doing any DVLA referrals, without which she's unable to renew her driving licence, and this is actually trapping her in her own home, as opposed to holding down a full-time job, having a full social life, being able to visit people, do all her own shopping, et cetera. So, there must be many other people affected in this way by a DVLA that is simply not able to keep pace with the requirements that are required for people who need short-term licences. So, I wondered if we could have a statement from the Minister for Social Justice on how people with these disabilities are affected by this failure of the DVLA to process these applications in the short term, because her licence has now run out and she, as I said, is trapped in her own home.