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| DVLA closures plan puts 1,200 jobs at risk | DVLA closures plan puts 1,200 jobs at risk |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| The government is proposing the closure of 39 Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) regional offices, putting more than 1,200 jobs at risk. | The government is proposing the closure of 39 Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) regional offices, putting more than 1,200 jobs at risk. |
| The closures due by the end of 2013 could save about £28m a year. | |
| Roads Minister href="http://www.dft.gov.uk/news/statements/penning-20111213" >Mike Penning said the plans to move more services online, now to be consulted on, would "make dealing with the DVLA easier and quicker". | |
| The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) has previously pledged to fight any DVLA office closures. | |
| The DVLA employs 6,116 staff - 1,213 of whom are potentially affected by the proposed office closures. | |
| Mr Penning said: "Centralising the DVLA's services is the first crucial step towards making more of its transactions available online, allowing people to deal with the DVLA at their chosen time and place. | |
| "This will mean quicker turnarounds and meet our customers' growing needs." | |
| DVLA chief executive Simon Tse said the proposals were a response to the fact that "times change and customers' needs change". | |
| "It's essential that we move with the times and make the best use of our services and experience to make sure we give the motor industry and the general public a service that is fit for the 21st Century." | |
| Leaked plan | |
| Last November, PCS claimed that it had learned of a plan to close 39 DVLA offices from a leaked government document. | |
| General secretary Mark Serwotka complained that, out of an organisation's workforce that had "proven time and again that they are highly efficient", hundreds of staff were to be thrown "on the scrapheap". | |
| At the time, PCS said any compulsory redundancies could lead to industrial action. | |
| The DVLA said no decision had been made at the time of the leak. | |
| Ten of the 39 offices affected by Tuesday's announcement are also home to regional enforcement centres. |