DVLA delays took Leighton Buzzard HGV driver off the road

The problems of keeping HGV drivers on the road was laid bare this week after a Leighton Buzzard driver had to be stood down by his company because of a delay in his paperwork.

Khalid Moufakkir El Housny has been an HGV driver for 30 years, but he has been struggling to get his driving licence renewed since July.

Because he is now 50, he was told he needed a health form from his GP, who in turn told him they had to wait for the form to be sent from the DVLA.

Despite the lengthy delays, just 12 hours after the LBO contacted the DVLA, his licence was automatically renewed and he is now back on the road.

"I'm happy to be back at work," said Khalid. "We need to be pushing deliveries."

Speaking of the issue he said: "I don't know what happened. I have permanent residency in this country and have been living in Leighton Buzzard. You need to renew your HGV licence every five years and after 50 you need a health check. But the surgery refused because they were waiting for the DVLA form.

Khalid, who has lived in Leighton Buzzard for the past 12 years, applied for his licence renewal in July.

On September 6 he received a letter from the DVLA saying because of his age they needed a form filling in from his GP but he could continue to drive while his licence was being processed.

But a month later, despite Khalid chasing the DVLA and his GP surgery, the necessary form had still not been sorted and this week his company XPO Logistics stood him down until his licence could be renewed.

Khalid, who regularly works six days a week, said a mixture of Brexit and Covid was to blame for the HGV shortage and bureaucracy was a big problem.

"All this makes it a problem to be an HGV driver," he said.

A spokesman for the DVLA said: “The vast majority of HGV applications we have are lorry or bus drivers renewing their licences and in most cases these drivers can continue to drive while we are processing their application provided they have not been told by their doctor or optician they should not drive.

“There are delays in processing paper applications due to the impact of recent industrial action and social distancing requirements, which means that we have fewer staff than usual on site.”

Under section 88 of the DVLA's fitness to drive while waiting for a licence renewal it states: to continue driving under Section 88, you must meet all of the following criteria: • Your doctor must have told you that you are fit to drive.

An XPO Logistics spokesman said: "We know the DVLA is working overtime to process driver applications as fast as it can. We're glad to hear this driver received clearance and can come to work at such a crucial time for supply chains. XPO is committed to finding more great drivers, all of whom must have the proper licenses and approvals to drive for us."