Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential (a) implications for her policies on reforming the driving-test booking system’s of DataDome’s blog entitled Alert: Security Gaps Allow Bots to Exploit UK Driving Test Booking System, published on 16 April 2025, and (b) impact of restricting instructors from booking and managing tests on the professional driver-training sector, small businesses and learner drivers, including vulnerable and neurodiverse learners.

To ensure fairness for everyone wanting to book a practical driving test, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) continues to work hard to combat the unscrupulous practice of reselling tests across the country.

The measures the Secretary of State for Transport announced on 12 November are designed to make the practical driving test booking process fairer, providing all learners with equal access to the booking system and ensuring that everyone pays the prescribed fee.

The public consultation sought views from the driver training industry, learner drivers and other interested parties. Further detail on the rationale, which will set out the detailed analysis, will be provided in the consultation report which will be published in due course.

DVSA has implemented a multi-layered approach to protect the integrity of its booking system and ensure fair access for legitimate users. Where bots are known to actively target, DVSA deploys and utilises advanced bot protection.

DVSA deploys enhanced bot protection to help stop automated systems from buying up tests unfairly. However, these applications constantly evolve and change. DVSA’s work on this is ongoing. Protection measures taken by DVSA analyse multiple indicators such as typing speed, request frequency, device fingerprinting, and traffic patterns to identify non-human activity. When suspicious behaviour is detected, DVSA applied rules to block or throttle automated requests. DVSA continuously updates it approach to counter evolving tactics used by bot operators, who often attempt to mimic human behaviour.