Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to reduce waiting times for Approved Driving Instructor Part 2 and Part 3 practical assessments; what the average waiting time is for these tests in all regions; how many examiners are (a) currently employed and (b) being recruited and trained to increase capacity; what her planned timeline is to reduce Part 2 and Part 3 waiting times to levels that help ensure trainee instructors can complete their qualifications within the two-year window; and what steps she is taking to (i) ensure increased access to assessment slots and (ii) prevent (A) the misuse of and (B) fraudulent bookings.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) does not hold data on the current waiting time for an approved driving instructor (ADI) part 2 or part 3 test at any of its test centres. ADI examiners are a national team and are not assigned to specific test centres.

There are currently 36 full time equivalent driving examiners employed by the DVSA who can conduct ADI part 2 and part 3 tests. DVSA has ongoing training and recruitment with its next training course starting in May for six new driving examiners, with two further courses planned later in the year.

ADI examiner tests are not booked in the same process as driving tests have been previously. DVSA recommends potential driving instructors use the ‘book-to-hold’ service. By doing this they can advise DVSA when and where they would like to sit tests within their 2-year qualification period. This enables DVSA to deploy examiner resource accordingly. Therefore, test allocation is largely controlled within DVSA. On occasion, short notice cancellations would be open for candidates to book directly. Due to this, DVSA does not have high volumes of test swapping, misuse or fraudulent bookings.