The UK Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) has announced a three-year extension to an existing ten year IT services agreement with IBM due to expire in 2012.

IBM will continue to be responsible for the DVLA's IT infrastructure and its ongoing operation, maintenance and support. It will also continue the implementation of a range of systems integration projects.

A key element will be to develop systems that will support a move to sharing IT resources with other departments.

Human resources, payroll and finance IT systems are to be shared across a number of Department for Transport agencies.

The DVLA and IBM have already introduced the Electronic Vehicle re-Licensing (EVL), an online service which makes it easier for motorists to pay their car tax and comply with vehicle licensing legislation.

The DVLA says the service has a take up rate of over 47 per cent, with over a million customer transactions per month.

And last year IBM helped the DVLA design a new, more secure driving license.

Paul Evans, DVLA’s Chief Information Officer, said: "This agreement offers significant savings for DVLA and we look forward to building on the partnership that has already been responsible for a wide range of innovative projects."