A mum says her life has been put on hold and she cannot follow her dream career to become an ambulance driver after waiting more than a year for her driving licence to be renewed.

Ella Saward-Hutton had a pacemaker fitted in 2018 as her heart often skips a beat and was required to declare her condition to the DVLA.

Due to the government agency's requirements people must meet minimum standards in order to drive otherwise they must apply for a medical licence and provide certain documentation.

Ella, who lives in the Perry Street area of Gravesend, followed these instructions and was issued one four years ago which expired last April.

However due to various reasons, including the pandemic, employees working from home and even industrial action by staff, the DVLA is dealing with an increased number of licence applications awaiting processing.

The 39-year-old has now been waiting since last April for her valid licence to be processed after attempting to renew it then.

She said: "Absolutely, my life has been put on hold. It is ridiculous. They are not doing anything and there has been no contact.

"I cannot do it online as it is a medical one. It has been over a year and I have not heard a thing.

"I am worried about if they back date it from when it expired as I would have lost a year. What if it takes another year next time?

"This needs to be sorted. No one will take me on for a driving job because it has been over a year since my licence expired."

Ella currently works at a call centre in Dartford after being let go as a call handler for Covid testing.

The mum applied to be a patient transport ambulance driver but due to her licence being expired they could not offer her a position.

She said: "The jobs I wanted are now gone. The career that I wanted I cannot go for.

"I have always enjoyed driving jobs but now I cannot even apply."

In the past, Ella has worked in three different roles which require using a vehicle such as a care in the community responder and a Tesco delivery driver.

Under Section 88 of the The Road Traffic Act 1988, Ella can still drive as she has submitted her application to the DVLA so has been using her car to drive her autistic son Oliver, 18, to school as he would otherwise have to walk six-miles-a-day and getting a bus is unsuitable for him due to his disability.

Last week, she received a note from the government organisation asking her to re-submit her application as it had too expired.

She says it is the exact same documentation she had already filled out and is asking her to provide doctor, neurology and medication papers which she claims to have sent a year ago.

Ella added: "How many times will I have to do this. It is one thing after another. It is really starting to get me down."

There was an increase in the number of licence applications awaiting processing at the DVLA due to industrial action by union members in the department during August 2021.

In addition, DVLA medical checks have been pushed down the priority list by NHS professionals since the earlier stages of the pandemic and again in January to support the Covid-19 booster vaccination programme.

The DVLA was also forced to send large numbers of its workforce home to work or put on paid leave due to a Covid outbreak in an office which reportedly added to the backlog.

The chairman of the Transport Select Committee, Huw Merriman MP recently wrote to DVLA's chief executive questioning why so many are still waiting to receive their licences.

In a letter, he said: "The situation is urgent. Drivers are waiting too long to have their applications processed."

Data provided from the DVLA to the committee in February showed the number of paper applications awaiting processing now stands at 1.1 million. This is a reduction from a peak of 1.6 million in September 2021.

More than a fifth of the 1.1 million applicants have also been waiting for 10 weeks or longer despite staff trying to tackle the backlog.

Generally, the DVLA has around 400,000 paper applications being processed at a time.

A DVLA spokesman said: "When considering an application to issue a driving licence we aim to make a decision as quickly as possible. However more complex transactions, for example if medical investigations are needed, will take longer.

"Where we require additional information from a driver’s doctor or the driver themselves we are wholly reliant on receiving this information before a decision can be made."

The department claim there are no delays with the online service which has been working as normal throughout the pandemic.

The agency say it has also recruited more staff, increased overtime and opened new customer service centres in Swansea and Birmingham to help reduce waiting times for customers and are issuing around 200,000 driving licences each week.

Track an application submitted to the DVLA here https://www.gov.uk/guidance/dvla-coronavirus-covid-19-update#processing-dates-for-paper-applications.

Have you had issues with the DVLA processing a licence application and had similar troubles to Ella? Contact us at gravesend@thekmgroup.co.uk