
The driving test online booking service reopened on Friday 21 August and then crashed due to the unexpected demand for places. By 8pm that evening the site had been visited seven million times.
In a recent announcement the Drivers and Vehicles Standards Agency (DVSA) said:
Coronavirus has severely impacted our business as usual operations, including by stopping driving tests in March. Since then DVSA have only been dealing with applications for emergency driving tests for critical workers.
Following unprecedented demand for the driving tests booking system with almost 7 million attempts to book a test when it opened, we need to carry out urgent maintenance so people can book tests.
We have to close the booking service.
Accordingly, until 8am on Wednesday 26 August 2020, the booking site will remain off-line. This essential maintenance should enable DVSA to cope with the increased demand from the public.
The services that will be unavailable during this period are:
It is also worth underlining that the DVSA is only taking bookings for a six week period. On which basis it is unlikely that demand will reduce. Let’s hope that DVSA improvements in their online systems are effective.
Since the private school VAT change, effective 1 January 2025, private school tuition and boarding in the UK have been...
A temporary VAT cut of 5% will apply from 25 June 2026 to 1 September 2026 on certain children’s meals,...
Most businesses ask this as a yes-or-no question, but UK VAT does not work that neatly. VAT on transaction fees...
In HMRC v M R Currell Ltd [2026] EWCA Civ 445, the Court of Appeal held that an £800,000 payment...
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has set itself an ambitious goal: by 2030, 90% of customer interactions should be digital,...
UK corporate law and HMRC guidance have long recognised that transactions between a company and its shareholders are subject to...
The UK Court of Appeal has clarified the VAT treatment of education grants, marking an important shift for schools, universities,...
Buying two or more homes together can trigger special stamp duty and property transaction tax rules across the UK. The...
Submitting a VAT return on time is one of the most important VAT responsibilities for UK businesses. A missed deadline...
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has adopted a significantly tougher stance on VAT investigations for large businesses recently. Investigations into...