Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect on the level of unlicensed drivers on UK roads of the withdrawal of foreign language voiceovers and interpreters for candidates taking the UK car and motorcycle theory tests since April 2014.

The then-Driving Standards Agency (now Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) undertook a full consultation between 5 February and 2 April 2013 before withdrawing voiceover and interpreter facilities for driving test candidates whose first language was not English.

The DVSA supports candidates whose English is a second language, or those who have difficulty understanding written English, by offering an English language voice over and writing the multiple-choice theory test questions in an easily understood way.

The DVSA has no evidence to suggest there is a need to make an assessment of the effect on the level of unlicensed drivers since the withdrawal of foreign language voiceovers and interpreters during the theory test on 7 April 2014.