Driving Licence Applications - New Residents

Summary

The requester asked for statistics on driving licence exchanges from non-Isle of Man countries for 2022-2024, including refusals and processing times by country. The Department of Infrastructure refused to provide the detailed breakdown and processing times, citing that the data is not held in the requested format and compiling it would require substantial analysis not mandated by the FOI Act.

Key Facts

• The Department holds data on foreign licence exchanges in financial years rather than calendar years.
• Compiling the requested country breakdown would require reviewing approximately 24,000 records.
• The estimated time to complete the requested analysis is 22 working days.
• The Department does not record data for rejections or refusals of exchange applications.
• Processing times by country are not recorded, though applications are expected to take 5 to 10 working days.

Data Disclosed

• 2022
• 2023
• 2024
• 24,000 records
• 22 working days
• 5 to 10 working days
• 2024-07-31
• 2024-08-28
• 4028385

Exemptions Cited

• Section 8 (3) (a), (b) and (c) of the Freedom of Information Act 2015

Original Request

Question 1 - I would like to know the number of driving licences issued during each of the last 3 full calendar years - 1 Jan to 31 Dec 2022, 2023 and 2024, where the applicant has exchanged a non Isle of Man driving licence. This analysis should also contain a breakdown of the country where the test was originally passed, as required on Form DL1. The number of any refusals or rejections in each year should also be provided. Question 2 - Using an average over the 3 year period stated in question 1, what is the processing time in days from the receipt of the exchange licence application to the issue of the Isle of Man driving licence? Again please provide this analysis by country of the licence being exchanged.

Data Tables (1)

Full Response Text

Department of Infrastructure Sea Terminal Building, Douglas, Isle of Man, IM1 2RF

Contact: FOI Response Team Telephone: (01624) 686785 Email: dpo-doi@gov.im

Our ref: 4028385 28 August 2024

Dear ###

This request is being handled under the Freedom of Information Act 2015.

We write further to your request received 31 July 2024, which states:

"Question 1 - I would like to know the number of driving licences issued during each of the last 3 full calendar years - 1 Jan to 31 Dec 2022, 2023 and 2024, where the applicant has exchanged a non Isle of Man driving licence. This analysis should also contain a breakdown of the country where the test was originally passed, as required on Form DL1. The number of any refusals or rejections in each year should also be provided.

Question 2 - Using an average over the 3 year period stated in question 1, what is the processing time in days from the receipt of the exchange licence application to the issue of the Isle of Man driving licence? Again please provide this analysis by country of the licence being exchanged."

I have detailed the information that is being released to you below:

Appendix 1 contains the information held by the Department in respect of foreign licences exchanged for Isle of Man licenses. The Department collects the data in the format of financial years rather than calendar years.

The exchange from a foreign license to an Isle of Man license is kept in the Department records as issue of a full driving license. Identification of the country of original pass would require review of all full licenses issued within the time period, first identifying the exchange licenses and then compiling the country of pass data from approximately 24,000 records which is estimated to take 22 working days to complete.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance, complying with this aspect of your request would require the Department to derive information, undertake analysis and substantial compilation of information that we hold which we are no required to do under Section 8 (3) (a), (b) and (c).

The Department does not record data for rejections or refusals of exchange applications.

Information is not held in respect of processing time of an application, by country.
Applications are expected to be completed within 5 to 10 working days.

Please quote the reference number 4028385 in any future communications.

Your right to request a review

If you are unhappy with this response to your freedom of information request, you may ask us to carry out an internal review of the response, by completing a complaint form and submitting it electronically or by delivery/post.

An electronic version of our complaint form can be found by going to our website at https://services.gov.im/freedom-of-information/Review . If you would like a paper version of our complaint form to be sent to you by post, please contact me and I will be happy to arrange for this. Your review request should explain why you are dissatisfied with this response, and should be made as soon as practicable. We will respond as soon as the review has been concluded.

If you are not satisfied with the result of the review, you then have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner for a decision on; 1. Whether we have responded to your request for information in accordance with Part 2 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015; or 2. Whether we are justified in refusing to give you the information requested.
In response to an application for review, the Information Commissioner may, at any time, attempt to resolve a matter by negotiation, conciliation, mediation or another form of alternative dispute resolution and will have regard to any outcome of this in making any subsequent decision. More detailed information on your right to a review can be found on the Information Commissioner’s website at www.inforights.im. Should you have any queries concerning this letter, please do not hesitate to contact me. Further information about freedom of information requests can be found at www.gov.im/foi.

I will now close your request as of this date.