Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the DVSA’s internal systems for addressing delays in practical driving test appointments.

Learning to drive is a major milestone in life for many, and no one should be held back by long and uncertain waits. That is why this government has launched a robust plan to bring waiting times down and restore confidence in the broken system we inherited from the previous government.

On 12 November, the Secretary of State for Transport, updated the Transport Select Committee on the government’s ongoing response to high driving test waiting times. In the coming months, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency will:

• Change the booking service to allow only learner car drivers to book and manage their tests

• Introduce a limit on the number of times a learner car driver can move or swap a test to twice and also limit the area they can move a test to once booked.

• Make use of Ministry of Defence (MOD) driving examiners for up to 12 months to help tackle driving test waiting times.

These changes will be introduced in spring 2026. DVSA will publish the full outcome of its consultation with details on how the changes will be implemented and when, as soon as possible.

The National Audit Office (NAO) has chosen to investigate and report on the causes of car driving test delays, and update on DVSA’s plan and progress in tackling these issues, the scale and nature of the waiting times for booking practical car driving tests. This includes examining the root cause of the delays and how DVSA has responded to the delays. DVSA has worked with DfT and the NAO team to provide the information needed for its investigation. The NAO intends to publish its report in winter 2025/26.