Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what criteria DVSA used to designate Bedford, Bletchley, Bromley, Slough, Southampton and Tottenham as priority sites for the Driving Examiner recruitment pilot; what the average driving test waiting time and examiner vacancy rate was at each site at the time of designation; and on what date each site was selected.

DVSA identified priority locations that had 5 or more live vacancies and provided the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) with a list. Following their external recruitment drive in January 2026, DVSA advised DWP that some of the locations initially identified were no longer considered high priority due to roles being filled. From the remaining sites on the list those chosen were where DVSA have managers with the flexibility to carry out assessments as part of the Driving Examiner recruitment pilot.