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An open letter to DSA Chief Executive Rosemary Thew from DIA Chief Executive Eddie Barnaville

DEAR ROSEMARY, We wish to protest in the strongest possible terms on behalf of our members about the DSA's recent announcement that it is increasing the cost of the ADI registration fee by £100 - a completely unjustifiable 50 per cent increase which, as noted in your Response to Consultation Report, was overwhelmingly rejected by ADIs.

Raising the cost of an ADI licence to £300 would be bad enough in view of the flagrantly poor service provided by the DSA to instructors, but considering the £2 million profit made by the Agency over the past ten years (as shown in its annual accounts), it is particularly abhorrent.

The justification for including a £50 provision for the cost of CRB checks in the fee is clearly unwarranted. As we pointed out in our response to your consultation: "Driving instructors are now a notifiable occupation, and therefore the DSA should be able to rely on the police system of reporting offences to be robust enough not to require subsequent CRB checks." On the subject of our response, we also politely ask the question: What is the point of the DSA engaging in a so-called ‘consultation' exercise when, as the entire industry knows and as experience has consistently shown, it is merely a tired process for placating an industry by pretending to be interested in their views before doing exactly what the Agency wants to, regardless of how forcibly those views are expressed.

When you took up the position of DSA Chief Executive last year, you promised that you would ‘listen to the concerns of ADIs'. We would respectfully point out that listening is not the same as taking account of. At a time of great change within the industry, with the introduction of CPD and forthcoming changes to the driving test, it seems particularly sad that the DSA, rather than trying to work with the industry to achieve the improvements in professionalism that we all want, should seek instead to reinforce the commonly held belief among driving instructors that it is nothing more than a money-grabbing monopoly. I know our members will look forward to your reply. Your sincerely Eddie Barnaville Chief Executive, DIA