Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to reduce car driving test wait times at (a) Monmouth test centre, (b) Abergavenny test centre and (c) test centres in South Wales.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) main priority is upholding road safety standards while it works hard to reduce car practical driving test waiting times. The agency is intensifying its efforts to reduce waiting times, including in Wales, and improve access to driving tests that will break down barriers to opportunity as part of the government’s Plan for Change.

DVSA is continuing with recruitment campaigns across the country to provide as many tests as possible. A full-time driving examiner can be expected to add approximately 1,200 tests per year to the booking system.

Following a recent recruitment campaign, one new entrant driving examiner has recently started in Monmouth and is currently undertaking training.

Eight new entrant driving examiners are scheduled to start training in May and June. Following successful completion of training, one will be joining Abergavenny test centre, two for Merthyr Tydfil, two for Newport, two for Swansea and one will be joining Llanelli test centre.

A further eight offers of employment have been made, which are still in pre-employment checks, for Cardiff, Newport, Bridgend, Swansea, Llanelli and Carmarthen test centre.