Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to (a) help tackle the use of bots and apps to bulk-buy practical driving tests, (b) increase the number of driving test examiners and (c) otherwise increase the availability of practical driving tests in Oxfordshire.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) main priority is to reduce car practical driving test waiting times, whilst upholding road safety standards.

Measures in place to reduce waiting times for customers at driving test centres include the recruitment of driving examiners, conducting tests outside of regular hours, including at weekends and on public holidays, and buying back annual leave from driving examiners.

As of 7 October 2024, there were 571,047 car practical driving tests booked, and 89,349 driving tests available within the 24-week booking window.

It is not possible to block book car practical driving tests. A driving licence number can only be assigned to one car practical driving test at a time. A survey by DVSA suggests that only 10% of learner drivers use third parties to book their tests. Most either book appointments themselves or through their approved driving instructor (ADI).

To ensure fairness for everyone wanting to book a practical driving test, DVSA continues to work hard to combat the unscrupulous practice of reselling tests. Such apps or bots are not approved by DVSA. They make it harder for candidates to get a test and can also result in people paying more for a test. DVSA will continue to take steps to block cancellation services from accessing the booking system, which are having a positive impact.

DVSA operates an online booking service (OBS) for instructors and trainers so that they can book and manage driving and riding tests for their pupils. DVSA has made changes to the OBS by stopping automatic online registrations to use the service, ensuring each company that registers employs an ADI and removing access for any companies not linked to driving instructors.

In January 2023, DVSA changed the terms and conditions for using the booking service to help prevent anyone from selling tests at profit. Since then, DVSA has issued 313 warnings, 766 suspensions, and closed 705 businesses for misuse of its booking service.

Following these changes, there has been a significant drop in traffic to these services because DVSA is successfully identifying and blocking apps or bots.