DVLA holding inaccurate data on 7.8 million drivers, claim Tories

Shadow transport secretary says figure has 'worrying consequences' for national safety

DVLA says data is 81.5 per cent accurate

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) holds inaccurate personal data on an estimated 7.8 million drivers, according to shadow transport secretary
Chris Grayling.

The MP says the figure, obtained in a written reply to a question he asked in the Commons, 'has worrying consequences for the safety of people on Britain's roads and raises questions about the bigger issue of identity fraud'.

The DVLA says it does not maintain regular accuracy data on its driver database, but it is 'estimated to be 81.5 per cent'. It also says vehicle information is less than 2.5 per cent inaccurate.

Driving licences are regularly used as a form of ID.

'This just adds to a long list of database problems which have dogged this government,' said Grayling.

'If they can't control the DVLA database how do they think they can possibly deal with a national ID database or a national road pricing scheme?'