Driving licence costs to be slashed by a third with a first-time application cut from £50 to only £34, and cost of renewing after 10 years to fall to £14 from £20

• First licence application to fall from £50 to £34 as part of DVLA review
• Transport minister Claire Perry says it will help young drivers with costs

The cost of applying for a driving licence is to be slashed by up to a third under plans being announced today.

New drivers who want their first licence will pay just £34, down from the current £50.

The price of renewing licences and the fee for tacographs will also be cut under efforts to ease the cost of motoring.

The coalition has long argued it is ending the war on the motorist, curbing parking fines and cutting the duty on petrol and diesel.

New transport minister Claire Perry, promoted in this month's reshuffle, will today launch a consultation on the plans to dramatically cut the cost of a driving licence,

She said: 'The cost of driving can be significant, especially for new drivers. 

'I’m pleased to say that we are planning to save drivers £18million a year by cutting licence fees, thanks to the DVLA making significant savings to their running costs.'

 

Drivers who apply online for their first driving licence would see the fee drop from £50 to £34.

Drivers who renew their licence after 10 years would see the fee drop from £20 to £14. The online reduction is 32 per cent and the paper application reduction is 15 per cent.

All driver tachograph cards would fall from £38 to £32. 

The Department for Transport expects the changes to save drivers nearly £18 million and the industry around £2 million every year. 

Transport minister Claire Perry said young drivers were especially affected by the high cost of motoring

Lib Dem Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander said: 'I have been working hard to drive savings across the whole public sector and it's great to see the benefit of these efficiencies feed through to drivers and businesses' pockets. What the DVLA (Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency) have shown today is that you can do more for less.' 

DVLA is currently reviewing all the fees they charge to motorists. Today's consultation is the first step in this ongoing review.

The consultation closes on August 25 2014 and the Government is hoping to introduce the new fees by the end of October 2014.