The announcement follows the Motoring Services Strategy consultation on improving the delivery of motoring services by the four executive agencies – VOSA, DSA, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency and the Vehicle Certification Agency – which put forward the idea of streamlining them.
Now Roads Minister Stephen Hammond has announced the DSA–VOSA merger will be effective from 2014, with a transitional board, under the leadership of VOSA chief executive Alastair Peoples who will head the agency, to start work next month to determine the structure of the organisation.
Stephen Hammond said: ‘We need to make sure that we continue to keep pace with customers’ needs and deliver services in a way which is both convenient and cost effective.
‘These changes will put customers at the heart of the services they rely on and allow for a more coherent approach to service delivery. By bringing testing and standards services into a single organisation we will make life easier for customers and potentially reduce the fees we charge.
‘Staff at the DSA and VOSA do a great job in delivering for customers every day and we will work closely with them to support them through these changes.
‘Customers should be reassured that the same high quality service delivery will continue throughout the transition period.’
The Freight Transport Association (FTA) commented on the announcement, with Karen Dee, director of policy, saying: ‘FTA supports any move which can deliver improved services and better value for money for its members, and we can certainly see some potential for this in the proposed merger of DSA and VOSA – for example if this allows transport managers to check their OCRS scores at the same time as their drivers’ DCPC status that would be a big step forward. However, we will be looking very carefully at the detail behind this to ensure that benefits such as this are delivered.’
She continued: ‘While bringing VOSA and DSA together puts testing of drivers and vehicles in one place, licensing of both will still be dealt with by DVLA. It is questionable therefore whether the proposals will deliver the improved links between testing and licensing that operators feel are necessary. FTA looks forward to working with the new – and existing – agencies to bring this about.’
Meanwhile, the Road Haulage Association (RHA) also welcomed the announcement while expressing some concerns. RHA chief executive Geoff Dunning said: ‘This move makes obvious sense to an industry that is surrounded by regulations from number of regulatory bodies. However, we are concerned that this is another case of the devil being in the detail and we would welcome the opportunity to contribute to the negotiations as to how the new system will actually work.
‘We have always had a good relationship with both the DSA and VOSA and are confident that this will continue with the new, single, regulatory body.’
