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Road Safety

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his second intervention. I did hear the point the first time. For the Minister's benefit, I simply repeat my point that the new syllabus, which the consultation sets out, includes driving at night and in poor weather conditions, and my question to him was about whether there are proposals to incorporate those in the driving test. Another proposed change that the consultation has not yet touched on is the student workbook, which is intended to track the progress of new drivers. It seems a good idea in theory, but the proposal is to make it entirely voluntary, so I wonder whether the Government have estimated the likelihood of students completing the book if it is introduced as a voluntary measure. If the idea is worth doing at all, we should probably regulate it and make it a compulsory part of the scheme, and again, if the Minister could refer to that in his response, I would be very interested in his answer. The workbook is a good idea. Students will have to complete certain tasks under supervision, including driving at night—a problem to which we have already referred. But should the workbook be entirely voluntary, and do we think that there will be sufficient take-up? The available figures—many of which we have already heard about—prove that allowing drivers on the road with little or no experience of driving at night or in adverse weather conditions can be a fatal mistake, so I agree with the Transport Committee's report, which says that for all age groups, we need a much more carefully regulated and better organised system for learning to drive. The Government should look again at introducing a minimum learning period and a minimum number of lessons with a qualified instructor, including some lessons that would take place after the driving test had been passed. The debate has highlighted across the piece that we are striving to reach a fine balance between ensuring that young adults, specifically, young males, can drive safely and that the costs, not just financially but generally, are not too onerous. On the financial considerations, young drivers can currently spend anything up to £1,500 to obtain a full driving licence. I should put that into context by pointing out, with some feeling, that if that person is a university student, the figure represents almost half the cost of one year's tuition. We must recognise that, for many people, the figure is prohibitively expensive, and we need to look for other ways of helping to ensure that young drivers have good driving tuition. The hon. Member for North-West Leicestershire (David Taylor) mentioned the pass plus scheme, which I understand local authorities in Wales and Scotland subsidise, so will the Minister say whether there have been any discussions about extending it and encouraging local authorities in England to do the same? It would be a useful step forward in trying to combat the problem.