DRIVING STANDARDS
AGENCY News Release (DSA 19/09) issued by COI News Distribution
Service on 1 April 2009
* Services move to
Business Link
* Transport Office Portal to close
* Change from 1 April
There are about to be some important changes to where you can
find many Driving Standards Agency (DSA) services on the internet.
If you are a driving instructor, transport operator, motorcycle
instructor, driving instructor trainer or a lorry, bus or taxi
driver, the Transport Office Portal currently offers you online
access to a range of Department for Transport (DfT) transactional
services and tools, many of which are owned by DSA.
From 1 April you should access most of those services through the
Business Link website at http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/transport
Services moving to Business Link include:
* information about becoming and operating as an approved driving
instructor (ADI);
* information about Driver CPC and a facility for trainers and
delegated examiners to record periodic training;
* a facility for trainer bookers to book multiple training slots
for theory test candidates;
* the Register of Post-test Motorcycle Trainers (RPMT) and how to
become one;
* access to other motoring services such as vehicle tax, driving
tests, driving licence services, etc;
* downloadable application forms;
* information about regulations and legislation.
You will still be able to find the information you need. There
will be a new theme of Transport on the "My Business"
section of Business Link's website and, for a while,
customers still using the old Transport Office web address will be
redirected automatically.
What is Business Link?
The Business Link website is a Government portal for UK business
customers. It offers practical help and advice on all aspects of
running a business and gives access to clear, simple, and
trustworthy information.
The site has been developed with the help of subject experts
within Government and relevant business-support organisations. The
aim is to help businesses comply with regulations and improve
their performance.
Whether you're starting up, already running a business, or
looking to grow and develop, http://www.businesslink.gov.uk
can help with:
* managing finances
* employing people
* finding and
keeping customers
* paying the correct tax
* complying
with legislation
* trading internationally
* understanding
regulations in your business sector
* finding out about events
and support near you
* identifying grants and support
schemes
* finding a local adviser through your regional
Business Link services.
Business Link is the preferred web portal for any business
customers seeking Government advice. It provides simple and
accessible ways for businesses to deal with Government.
Directgov
Not all of DSA's services that were previously available on
Transport Office were aimed solely at business users. That means
the following services, aimed more at individual citizens, will be
moving to http://www.direct.gov.uk/motoring:
* search for approved Register of Post-test Motorcycle Trainers
(RPMT) trainers
* rider training and development evaluation (online form)
* information about the Official Register of Driving Instructor
Trainers (ORDIT).
There will also be new information pages for experienced drivers
who want to enhance their existing driving skills by obtaining a
licence and taking tests to drive additional categories of
vehicles, such as lorries, buses and taxis.
Useful addresses:
http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/transport
http://www.direct.gov.uk/motoring
http://www.direct.gov.uk/drivingtest
For further information contact:
John Atkin, Head of Press
and eCommunications, Driving Standards Agency
Tel: 0115 936
6133
Email: John.Atkin@dsa.gsi.gov.uk
Notes to Editors:
1. The Driving Standards Agency (DSA) is an executive agency * of
the Department for Transport.
2. The DSA's vision is "Safe Driving for Life"
with an overall mission to contribute towards a Government target
of achieving a 40% reduction in riders and drivers killed or
seriously injured in road accidents, in the age group up to 24
years, by 2010.
3. Current information on road casualties is available from the
Department for Transport website: http://www.dft.gov.uk
4. The Agency's aim is to promote road safety through
setting standards for drivers, riders and trainers, testing
drivers and riders fairly and efficiently, maintaining the
registers of Approved Driving Instructors; Large Goods Vehicle
Instructors; Fleet Trainers; Driving Instructor Trainers and Post
Test Motorcycle Trainers; supervising Compulsory Basic Training
(CBT) for learner motorcyclists; and driver education and the
provision of learning resources.
5. DSA is a trading fund * with an expected turnover of around
£199 million for the year 2008/9, fully funded by fee income and
revenue from its activities.
6. DSA employs over 2,700 staff, of which some 2,000 are driving
examiners based at over 400 test centres across mainland Great
Britain. In 2007/2008 the Agency conducted 1.8 million practical
tests for car drivers, over 95,000 vocational tests and 94,000
motorcycle rider tests. A total of 1.7 million theory tests were
carried out at 158 centres. At the end of the year there were
around 43,600 people on the Register of Approved Driving Instructors.
7. DSA was one of the first Government Agencies to introduce an
online booking service. Candidates can book and manage their
theory and practical test appointments on line at http://www.direct.gov.uk/drivingtest
* Executive agency:
An executive agency is semi-detached from its parent department
and manages its own budget with freedom from ad hoc, day to day
intervention and much of central, government-wide regulation. They
are run under the organisation and direction of a Chief Executive
recruited through open competition. An executive agency has
accountability for the performance of specific operational tasks
as a corporate unit, including focused performance targets set by
the parent department and personal accountability of the chief
executive for performance.
* Trading Fund:
A trading fund is a means of financing trading activities
undertaken by Government that would previously have been financed
by annual appropriation from Parliament. A trading fund permits
the establishment of a self-accounting unit that remains under the
control and management of Ministers and accountable to Parliament
through Ministers, but has greater freedom to manage its financial
affairs. Effectively that means the trading fund body can use its
income to settle its liabilities and retain year-end cash balances.
Establishing the trading fund does not alter the Agency's
constitutional position and it remains part of the Department for Transport.