At the meeting, the association put forward its suggestions on how the agencies could be improved.

'It was very encouraging to hear that the Government shares our view on how these agencies can improve the way they deal with their corporate customers,' said BVRLA chief executive, John Lewis, who attended the meeting along with head of legal services, Jay Parmar.

'The minister made it clear that the DVLA must move quickly to drop its reliance on paperwork and start delivering efficient, electronic-based services.

'He also agreed with us that VOSA should carry on exploring the role industry can play in improving vehicle testing and compliance – thus enabling more targeted enforcement.'

The BVRLA has been calling for some time for the DVLA to abolish the tax disc, saying that continuous registration laws and increasing use of automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras mean that it is now obsolete. This would save the DVLA over £90 million a year in administration costs, according to the BVRLA, and eliminate a massive amount of paperwork for fleet owners. It also says that allowing companies to pay their vehicle excise duty on a multi-year basis would bring similar benefits.

The association has also recently advised the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) on how it can improve its vehicle recall guidance from the rental and leasing industry's perspective.

The BVRLA has added that it hopes that the meeting with Penning, who also addressed the BVRLA Annual Dinner earlier this month, could become a regular fixture.

In the meantime it will continue to push its messages through its attendance at the Department for Transport’s Motorists Forum, VOSA’s "Stanmore Group" and the DVLA’s Industry Liaison Group.