Context
Rachel, a constituent of the MP's, reported severe delays in booking practical driving tests for her daughter at the Huddersfield test centre. No appointments are available until more than a year out.
Question
Young people across the country face significant delays since the COVID pandemic, leading to months of extra lessons just to stay test-ready. Can the Minister tell the House what steps the Department is taking to tackle the severe backlog in practical driving tests, increase examiner capacity, and ensure that test centres such as Huddersfield and Heckmondwike are accessible within a reasonable timeframe?
Answer from The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Simon Lightwood)
To address the backlog, DVSA has introduced measures to deliver 10,000 additional tests a month by recruiting 450 new driving examiners, introducing incentives for everyone delivering tests, encouraging qualified staff to return to frontline roles, doubling the number of trainers, and extending the cancellation notice period from three to ten working days. In addition, an extra examiner is conducting tests in Heckmondwike with another one due to complete training by December, while there is also an additional examiner in Wakefield.
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