Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many full-time equivalent driving examiners employed by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency were (a) in post and (b) delivering practical car driving tests in (i) January 2026 and (ii) February 2026.

For campaigns up to November 2025, The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) used the data available from the civil service recruitment standard applicants survey. This shows which advertising routes generate candidates, however the information does not give 100% coverage.

In December 2025, DVSA introduced a DVSA specific survey. This is sent to everyone who is offered an interview. This is then followed by another survey sent to anyone who successfully moves onto training. DVSA will cross-reference the data from these two surveys going forward, but for now DVSA has data for only one complete and one ongoing campaign.

For DVSA social media advertising the current click through rate as of February 2026 was 1.4%. For direct communications from DVSA to subscribers to DVSA job alerts, over the last 12 months the average click through rate was 4%. It is not possible to say what number of these click throughs resulted in completed applications.

DVSA displays posters in driving test centres as part of a wider mix of recruitment activity. All driving test centres (DTC) have access to a centrally produced recruitment campaign poster to be displayed in their waiting rooms. Posters are displayed only if DVSA is actively recruiting in the area.

The table below shows how many full-time equivalent (FTE) DEs were in post, and out of those, how many were available to deliver practical car driving tests in January and February 2026.

* - Includes those who are in training to be a driving examiner

A DE is a paid DVSA employee from the point at which they start their training. The available number is only those who are qualified and who are working at DTCs doing tests. The in-post figure therefore includes those who are in training.