Its a positive move but one which shouldve happened about 10 years ago. We've lived in an internet dominated world for well over a decade now theres no reason to have all this paper nonsense cluttering up our households and Government offices. The Sorn changes are the best ones, in the past you had to tell them every year that its still Sorned and if you failed to do so they'd fine you for not telling them nothings changed.

I wonder if there will be a reactionary movement of the 'resist any change' brigade to the scrapping of the counterpart license and the motor insurance certificate.

Certainly not - the reactionaries like me have never had a 10-year life photo licence with paper counterpart and don't intend to - I've got a licence until I'm 70 years old and I'll swap it then for a Euro-licence (if we're still in the EC).

Motor insurance certificate has been all but eliminated for many people anyway - I get sent mine by email and have to print it out myself, hardly secure, but the authorities have other ways of checking I'm insured, taxed and MoT'd.