No you don't need to apply for a provisional licence. You do need to do the CBT. You can do your theory after the CBT, although if you fail it theres normally at least a 3 week wait before you can do it again....and it is easily failable (took me 4 attempts).
...and you don't need to do the DAS. I just took lessons every weekend and applied for the test myself. I think this works out cheaper, and its not so much of a short sharp shock.