Practices to be contacted in tender process

Association of Optometrists director of marketing and business development David Craig has written to the organisation's members to brief them on the latest developments in the DVLA visual fields tender process.

Craig said the DVLA had written to current DVLA contractors to ask for permission to pass on practice contact details to organisations interested in bidding for the single contractor tender with the purpose of ascertaining whether they would be prepared to continue the service. He said there was nothing 'inherently risky' about the process, as even if practices were contacted, they would not be obliged to provide information.

He also hinted at the possibility of the new single contractor using existing service providers. 'Reassuringly, it seems likely (but not certain), from the content of the letter, that they will require whoever tenders for the contract to offer existing service providers the opportunity to continue to provide the service.