Almost one million motorists are still waiting for their new licences to be processed because of a backlog the DVLA blames on Covid.
Figures published by the Commons transport committee show 898, 673 applicants have been left without a replacement licence, 254,000 of whom lodged submissions more than ten weeks ago.
Around 3.1million calls, presumably from drivers seeking information, went unanswered in January when staff absences were high because of Covid.
The Driver and Vehicle Licencing Authority (DVLA) is set to miss its self-imposed deadline of clearing the backlog by spring because of staff absences due to the Omicron variant.
Drivers' paper-based applications will not be back to normal turnaround times until the end of May, while those requiring a medical decision will not return to normal until September.
Huw Merriman, chairman of the transport select committee, said some "welcome progress" has been made to reduce the backlog, but said he was disappointed by the continued increase in application waiting times.
"Given the experience in the first waves of Covid, the DVLA could have been more pre pared to meet the impact of Omicron," he said.
"It may also have been possible to predict the higher volume of driving licence renewals caused by people rejoining the haulage industry."
A DVLA spokesman said: "We are prioritising returning ID papers. Online services are working as normal. We encourage customers to use these where possible. We have recruited more staff, increased overtime and opened new customer service centres."
Most motorists waiting for their applications to be processed are still allowed to drive.
But there are certain situations where you can’t, including if your doctor says you can’t drive and if the DVLA hasn’t received your application within the last 12 months.
If you're filing an application, the DVLA says you can avoid any delays by applying online instead as this is an automated system.
