10,000 extra driving tests a month to clear backlog

The transport secretary has pledged to reduce the number of learner drivers in England waiting more than five months to sit practical tests.

Heidi Alexander said the government would aim to clear the backlog by next summer, providing at least 10,000 extra driving tests a month to help tackle the issue.

Current driving test wait times are "totally unacceptable", she told parliament's transport committee on Wednesday.

There is a minimum six-month wait to book a driving test in several areas of the UK, according to data from the AA.

The transport secretary said the new measures would help reduce average waiting times to no more than seven weeks by summer 2026.

It means the government is set to miss its original target for waiting times by up eight months.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) had planned on cutting waiting times to seven weeks by the end of this year. It has blamed an "increase in demand and a change in customers' booking behaviour" for the backlog.

In order to tackle the delays, Alexander revealed plans to double training capacity so more driving examiners would be available.

She said she was also asking those in other DVSA roles who are qualified, but not longer examine, to temporarily "return to the frontline".

She said it would also reintroduce overtime pay incentives for everyone delivering driving tests.

A record 1.95 million tests were booked last year, but the government would now consult on changes to the test booking system, Alexander added.

She said there were plans to crackdown on test booking bots which she said were "exploiting learners".

Test booking bots are automated software which can act much faster than a human to rapidly book an appointment on the DVSA website.

Such bots can secure multiple test slots and some companies have used this technology to resell driving test slots at inflated prices.

'Massive impact on my life'

Learner driver Millie Moyler is due to sit her test this summer - almost 18 months since she started looking for a slot in December 2023.

"It's had a massive impact on my life," the university student from High Wycombe told BBC Radio 5 Live.

Millie said she had been held back by the delay and was "hopeful" she would pass her long-awaited first try in July.

The wait for a test used to be a mere 10 weeks, according to driving instructor Sue Howe.

"But since Covid, it's just so difficult to get a test," she told the BBC on Wednesday.

The instructor from Swindon said a shortage of examiners was to blame: "If they're short of examiners, they just can't produce the tests."

Emma Bush, managing director of AA Driving School, welcomed the "further details of how the DVSA will meet its target waiting time of seven weeks by the end of the year".

"Learner drivers have been dealing with frustratingly long waiting times to book a driving test since the easing of pandemic related restrictions several years ago," she said.

"Many people, particularly young people, need to pass their driving test for their job or to access education. Unblocking the system by creating extra tests will help ensure people are not being held back due to a lack of a driving licence."