Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to help reduce driving test waiting times in (a) Medway and (b) Kent.

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

DVSA continues to take measures to increase test availability. These include the recruitment of driving examiners (DE), conducting tests outside regular hours, including at weekends and on public holidays and buying back annual leave from driving examiners.

As part of its recruitment efforts in Kent, DVSA has made offers to 15 potential new DEs. DVSA launched its latest recruitment campaign in September 2024. From this campaign DVSA aims to recruit a further eight DEs in the Kent area.