Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to improve (a) recruitment and (b) retention of driving examiners in high cost of living areas.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) examiner recruitment campaigns continue to be successful but, like many employers, DVSA is finding the job market extremely competitive. As it moves through each recruitment campaign, DVSA will continually review and make changes and improvements to its recruitment and selection process, and training courses.

Driving examiners are Civil Servants so their salary is determined by the Civil Service Pay Remit Guidance. The guidance sets out the financial parameters within which Civil Service departments can determine pay awards for their staff. DVSA cannot act independently from this guidance. DVSA is working with Department for Transport colleagues to consider a new approach to the pay structure for all its front-line workers.