DVSA PLC

It has been quite well publicised over recent months that the Highways Agency (HA) will become a company in it's own right, this will allow the selling of shares, for the Government to retain a portion and for the Agency to become self financing, good news for tax payers it would seem, however it will only be good news if the sale time is right, as reflected in the information released today regarding the Post Office.

So that leads to other departments that provide a service, for some time now I have mentioned privatisation of the driving test, with such a strong push towards each department becoming a stand alone, after the natural trimming of staff, think Rosemary Thew, there is an even greater implication that the newly formed DVSA is a step towards creating a company that is a viable investment for share holders.

As a tax payer we retained a 30% stake in the Post Office, there is of course no reason for the Secretary of State to withhold a slice of the cake to the same size, although as a tax payer I would be far happier if all interests were held at 51% giving us the majority holding. Currently the holding for HA will be 100% but that can only have limited time scale, meaning the Agency needs to meet it's business forecast for the years 13/14 14/15 to make it more attractive.

So, logically, the back office will be deciding what package they need to pretty up and hold out for the share holders.  With the cost of a driving test rising next year, along with a restructure of the test itself, and the introduction of a standards check (quality assurance), the FTSE100 is likely to embrace the company with open arms.

Changing how instruction is delivered, more customer friendly, teach don't dictate, will make for a more attractive proposition, the question has to be can it really work.  With a new man at the helm, Alastair Peoples, the packaging is more appealing solely because the former DSA needs to lose it's reputation and skeletons before it can be offered for sale.

Privatisation of Our Roads

Well it seems selling out the tax payer is on the horizon, at what point are we actually going to be in a position where the UK has any assets at all. For the driver, and I don't mean driver trainers I mean road users, we are, after all, adding to the driving population by a way of career, things are about to get worse. So with the post test training still hot around the edges as far as the ERSC are concerned and on the table for the UK until at least May 2014, are we really helping by preparing these people for an uncertain future of driving.

The current Government consultation, which I thought carefully about before participating, defines the future of the roads, yet how many out of 64 million plus people, will get involved, and why would they, because as previous consultations show, the publicity surrounding these matters is always weak. Will more than 1,000 respond, hmm, we shall see.  Should our national associations be taking part, of course they could, we produce drivers, they use the roads, many are happy to defend the young driver and complain about insurance costs, so surely getting involved in this is important too, or it's half a job.

The Highways Agency is about to become a company in it's own right, if this goes unchallenged, the road network is worth £107.4bn so a hefty asset.  So HA a private company, Government owned, a share holding company, with the Secretary of State as the only shareholder, yet with the asset still showing as part of the DFT, is that legal?  I have to guess so.  If the Secretary of State then chooses to sell shares in the HA then the roads are privately owned, so not quite the huge railway error, but not far short.

So have you taken part in the consultation? Will you? Do you think privatisation is a good idea? because from where I am sitting it hasn't helped us so far. Maybe I am thinking too far ahead, but if the money we are spending now on changing the driving test and making sure our drivers of the future, despite the not too distant future of driverless cars, are competent and responsible, then why are we not covering the next level.

Many pieces of the trainee driving instructor training jigsaw are in the mix, with the spotlight highlighting a change would be beneficial and that wannabe ADI's are unprepared under the new system, yet the new driver is unprepared for all of the major changes on our roads.

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