Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2015-12-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency and test staff representatives in order to seek a resolution of the industrial disputes at that Agency.

Andrew Jones

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) regrets the current industrial action, which is focussed on a modernised employment contract, and the effect it is having on its customers. DVSA has kept dialogue open with the Public and Commercial Services and Prospect unions. Senior DVSA managers have made themselves available for talks, but the unions set unacceptable preconditions to talks, so they could not take place.

DVSA is seeking to come to an agreement on acceptable conditions for talks, seeking the help of Acas on 2 December to do this.