The rate at which the licences are issued/renewed would struggle to cope with re-issuing 9,000 as EASA format should this be mandated in 2012.
2 years ago they managed to reissue every current licence just to put English Proficiency on it; hit the button and the computer generates them, all you need is a signature and a few temps to put them into envelopes. New licence issues have to be checked, a much more demanding task than reissuing current licences. A minor task compared to inspecting 300+ PPL schools and all the gliding clubs in the UK.