The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) has confirmed that it will raise the fees from 1 May 2007, despite opposition from the trade, and the lobbying of Transport Minister, Stephen Ladyman.
The fee for a first driving licence will be increased from £38 to £45 while the fee for first vehicle registration will increase from £38 to £50.
The new charging structure is being introduced to support the modernisation of DVLA and its licensing systems but critics argue they get enough especially from the enormous income generated from the sale of cherished number plates that inevitably land on the treasury’s doorstep.
But it will affect the UK’s new car dealer network with estimates that the fee rises could add some £6 million at a time when new car sales are already under pressure from rising taxation and spiralling out of control cost of living.
The DVLA has confirmed that there will be further increases in first vehicle registration fee both in 2008 and 2009.
I feel another protest coming on here. What exactly do the DVLA spend their money on from us, the poor hard hit motorist? If it were to improve roads or better transport facilities I would not mind. But I think this is their new cunning plan to road pricing. Simply make it hideously expensive for any new motorist thus deterring them from the beginning not to drive.
Jackie Violet