Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of closing DVSA testing centres on driving standards.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is committed to providing an effective and efficient driving test service for its customers and keeps its estate under continual review.

DVSA strongly encourages learners to drive on a variety of different roads and not just near to the location where a test centre is based. The driving test is designed to assess a driver’s ability to drive independently without instruction, taking into account the road and traffic situation at the time. Traffic situations change constantly, and road networks and layouts differ, therefore, exposing learner drivers to as many scenarios as possible will provide them with the skills and knowledge they require to drive on their own, and not just for the test.

Learner drivers should be taught transferable skills that allow them to identify, plan and safely navigate hazards that they have not had the opportunity to encounter previously.