Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department plans to conduct an impact assessment of the DVSA’s policy to restrict driving instructors from booking test appointments.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
To ensure fairness for everyone wanting to book a practical driving test, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) continues to work hard to combat the unscrupulous practice of reselling tests across the country.
The measures the Secretary of State for Transport announced on 12 November are designed to make the practical driving test booking process fairer, providing all learners with equal access to the booking system and ensuring that everyone pays the prescribed fee.
The decision follows a call for evidence and a public consultation that sought views from the driver training industry, learner drivers and other interested parties. In reaching this decision, impacts were fully considered. Further detail on the rationale, which will set out the detailed analysis, will be provided in the consultation report which will be published in due course.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she plans to commission an investigation into the (a) internal governance, (b) operational effectiveness and (c) performance management of the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Learning to drive is a major milestone in life for many, and no one should be held back by long and uncertain waits. That is why this government has launched a robust plan to bring waiting times down and restore confidence in the broken system we inherited from the previous government.
On 12 November, the Secretary of State for Transport, updated the Transport Select Committee on the government’s ongoing response to high driving test waiting times. In the coming months, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency will:
Change the booking service to allow only learner car drivers to book and manage their tests
Introduce a limit on the number of times a learner car driver can move or swap a test to twice and also limit the area they can move a test to once booked.
Make use of Ministry of Defence (MOD) driving examiners for up to 12 months to help tackle driving test waiting times.
These changes will be introduced in spring 2026. DVSA will publish the full outcome of its consultation with details on how the changes will be implemented and when, as soon as possible.
The National Audit Office (NAO) has chosen to investigate and report on the causes of car driving test delays, and update on DVSA’s plan and progress in tackling these issues, the scale and nature of the waiting times for booking practical car driving tests. This includes examining the root cause of the delays and how DVSA has responded to the delays. DVSA has worked with DfT and the NAO team to provide the information needed for its investigation. The NAO intends to publish its report in winter 2025/26.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the DVSA’s internal systems for addressing delays in practical driving test appointments.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Learning to drive is a major milestone in life for many, and no one should be held back by long and uncertain waits. That is why this government has launched a robust plan to bring waiting times down and restore confidence in the broken system we inherited from the previous government.
On 12 November, the Secretary of State for Transport, updated the Transport Select Committee on the government’s ongoing response to high driving test waiting times. In the coming months, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency will:
Change the booking service to allow only learner car drivers to book and manage their tests
Introduce a limit on the number of times a learner car driver can move or swap a test to twice and also limit the area they can move a test to once booked.
Make use of Ministry of Defence (MOD) driving examiners for up to 12 months to help tackle driving test waiting times.
These changes will be introduced in spring 2026. DVSA will publish the full outcome of its consultation with details on how the changes will be implemented and when, as soon as possible.
The National Audit Office (NAO) has chosen to investigate and report on the causes of car driving test delays, and update on DVSA’s plan and progress in tackling these issues, the scale and nature of the waiting times for booking practical car driving tests. This includes examining the root cause of the delays and how DVSA has responded to the delays. DVSA has worked with DfT and the NAO team to provide the information needed for its investigation. The NAO intends to publish its report in winter 2025/26.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of establishing additional driving test centres in (a) rural and (b) semi-rural constituencies.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) fully acknowledges car practical driving test waiting times remain high and understands the impact this continues to have on learner drivers, particularly those living in rural and semi-rural communities.
In the coming months, DVSA will:
· Change the booking service to allow only learner car drivers to book and manage their tests
· Introduce a limit on the number of times a learner car driver can move or swap a test to twice and also limit the area they can move a test to once booked.
· Make use of Ministry of Defence (MOD) driving examiners for up to 12 months to help tackle driving test waiting times.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if her Department will publish a regional plan for expanding driving test capacity in areas with the longest waiting times.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) fully acknowledges car practical driving test waiting times remain high and understands the impact this continues to have on learner drivers, particularly those living in rural and semi-rural communities.
In the coming months, DVSA will:
· Change the booking service to allow only learner car drivers to book and manage their tests
· Introduce a limit on the number of times a learner car driver can move or swap a test to twice and also limit the area they can move a test to once booked.
· Make use of Ministry of Defence (MOD) driving examiners for up to 12 months to help tackle driving test waiting times.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions her Department has had with local authorities to ensure that major transport infrastructure upgrades are delivered effectively in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
My officials hold regular meetings with Surrey County Council to discuss transport in Surrey. We will shortly announce the regional allocations for the majority of the transport funding announced in the Spending Review. We have informed Surrey County Council of their allocation of the Local Transport Grant which is £38.19 million for the period from April 2026 to April 2030 for local transport improvements.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to ensure that the transport system supports economic growth in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
My officials hold regular meetings with Surrey County Council to discuss transport in Surrey. We will shortly announce the regional allocations for the majority of the transport funding announced in the Spending Review. We have informed Surrey County Council of their allocation of the Local Transport Grant which is £38.19 million for the period from April 2026 to April 2030 for local transport improvements.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of passenger rail performance in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Performance across the South Western Railway network, including in the Surrey Heath constituency, has been below the standard that passengers deserve. Under public ownership and with new leadership, South Western Railway and Network Rail Wessex are working together to address the issues inherited from the previous operator.
On the Ascot to Ash Vale line which serves the Surrey Heath constituents, the top recent cause for cancellations is the availability of traincrew. To address this, South Western Railway has accelerated its driver recruitment. By the end of December 2025, South Western Railway will have recruited 124 trainee drivers in the calendar year, up from 67 the year before.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to improve passenger rail performance in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Performance across the South Western Railway network, including in the Surrey Heath constituency, has been below the standard that passengers deserve. Under public ownership and with new leadership, South Western Railway and Network Rail Wessex are working together to address the issues inherited from the previous operator.
On the Ascot to Ash Vale line which serves the Surrey Heath constituents, the top recent cause for cancellations is the availability of traincrew. To address this, South Western Railway has accelerated its driver recruitment. By the end of December 2025, South Western Railway will have recruited 124 trainee drivers in the calendar year, up from 67 the year before.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many practical driving tests were cancelled due to examiner unavailability at test centres in (a) Surrey and (b) Hampshire since 2020.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The attached Excel document shows the number of car practical driving tests cancelled since 2020 at driving test centres in Surrey and Hampshire, where the reason category recorded was, ‘examiner unavailable’.
Please note, that tests that were subsequently rebooked for the same day as the cancelled test, are excluded. Please also note that the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) can currently only publish this data up to 31 March 2025.