DVLA staff handed £2.2MILLION in bonuses despite massive driving licence backlog

STAFF at the DVLA were handed £2.2million in bonuses last year despite a massive driving licence backlog.

There have been huge delays in issuing and renewing driving licence the pandemic when hundreds of DVLA staff were said to have been sent home on full pay.

The disruption was made worse by dozens of days of strike action as unions complained the agency's offices were not Covid-secure.

Ministers warned the 60,000 items of post that arrive at DVLA every day were not being opened because of working from home — with the backlog in licence applications growing to 1.2million.

It has now been cut to around 300,000 after more staff were sent in to fix the mess.

The DfT transparency disclosure revealed that £2,163,414 was paid in non-consolidated bonuses at DVLA — one of the department's executive agencies.

However, there is no breakdown of what bonuses were received at different levels.

Tory MP David Jones told MailOnline it was "outrageous" that staff had been handed bonuses for "staying at home and not dealing with applications".

"It's a close run thing as to which is causing more complaints at the moment, the DVLA or the Passport Office," he said.