Written question asked by Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat) on Thursday, 6 March 2025, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 11 March 2025 (named day). It was answered by Lilian Greenwood (Labour) on Tuesday, 11 March 2025 on behalf of the Department for Transport.

Driving Tests

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the availability of (a) practical and (b) theory driving tests is commensurate with the expected number of applicants at any given time.

Answer

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) practical test booking service is live, and candidates are advised to check for new appointments regularly. Test appointments are released on a rolling 24-week basis, and slots are added as soon as they become available.

As of 3 March 2025, there were 576,004 car practical driving tests booked, and 34,169 driving tests available within the 24-week booking window.

On the 18 December, DVSA set out further plans to reduce driving test waiting times across the country. These steps include recruiting 450 driving examiners (DEs). Full details of these steps can be found on GOV.UK.

Theory test availability is monitored by both DVSA and the external service providers. Candidates wait on average no more than 28 calendar days from booking to their theory test appointment date, as per the contractual performance measures.

Capacity in the theory test centre network is managed using demand forecasting, and ongoing monitoring of tests booked into the 211 test centres in the network across Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 36295
Session: 2024-26
Related items: Car practical driving test waiting times
Wednesday, 18 December 2024
Written statements
House of Commons
Subjects: Driving tests
Link: View this Written question on www.parliament.uk

Driving Tests

Secondary information

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