Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent steps she has taken to help increase the number of (a) driving instructors and (b) examiners.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) does not employ driving instructors. Whilst DVSA does not have the power to either increase or limit the number of approved driving instructors (ADIs), the number of instructors on the DVSA’s ADI register has increased in the last few years.

The number of new applications to start the qualification process to become an ADI has also increased and DVSA are using all available ADI examiner resources to provide as many ADI qualifications tests as possible, to ensure potential instructors can complete the process.

On the 18 December 2024, DVSA set out plans to reduce driving test waiting times across the country. These steps included recruiting 450 driving examiners.

On the 23 April, the Secretary of State for Transport announced that she has asked DVSA to take action on four additional measures. These include:

• Incentivised additional testing offers for driving examiners – potentially creating thousands of extra tests per month.
• Doubling permanent training capacity for new driving examiners – meaning more can start carrying out driving tests sooner.
• A call for volunteers from those currently in other roles (but qualified to examine) to carry out practical driving tests.

Further information regarding these measures can be found on GOV.UK