I'm not convinced as my reg application has been delayed by the Cardiff office as they would not take my first registration fee - handed over the counter 3 times and even showed them the email from Swansea saying I needed to pay it but still would not take the cheque. 2 weeks later get a letter from Swansea asking for first registration fee
At least if everything goes throug Swansea things should get a bit more standardised. I think at the end of the day you just have to accept that the IVA and DVLA are slow processes. It took me 12 weeks from submitting my IVA forms to actually havng the test, and that was the earliest date they could do!