Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the availability of driving tests within (a) half an hour, (b) an hour and (c) two hours travel of the Gosport peninsula.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA’s) main priority is to reduce car practical driving test waiting times, whilst upholding road safety standards.

DVSA continues to take measures to increase test availability. These include the recruitment of driving examiners, conducting tests outside regular hours, including at weekends and on public holidays and buying back annual leave from driving examiners.

As of 21 October 2024, there were 567,344 car practical driving tests booked, and 84,092 driving tests available within the 24-week booking window.

The table below shows the current average waiting time and number of tests available at the driving test centres within up to two hours traveling distance from the Gosport peninsula.