Nick Smith
Main Page: Nick Smith (Labour - Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney)Department Debates - View all Nick Smith's debates with the Leader of the House
(3 weeks, 4 days ago)
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Sir Alan Campbell
I will give the right hon. Gentleman a commitment that I will raise the issue with the relevant Ministers and see if we can find some time to debate these matters, should time allow.
Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney) (Lab)
My constituents continue to face delays in accessing driving tests post covid. The Government’s important consultation covers tackling bot activity, bulk and speculative bookings, and improving access to genuine test slots. A driving instructor in Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney has expressed his concerns about potential booking restrictions for driving instructors and issues around examiner recruitment. Will a Transport Minister please update the House and confirm that those issues will be considered in the round?
Sir Alan Campbell
We have doubled the number of trainers for examiners, and provided 120,000 additional tests between June last year and January this year. We have also tightened up the rules on who can book and reschedule tests to avoid exploitation by online bots and re-selling, but I will draw my hon. Friend’s remarks to the attention of a Transport Minister. He can either seek a meeting with the Minister or we will get an update for the House.