Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to reduce the backlog of driving tests due to covid-19 public health restrictions.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has several measures in place to increase the number of driving tests available, once it is safe for tests to resume. These include offering overtime and annual leave buy back to examiners, asking all those qualified to carry out tests (warrant card holders) to do so, and conducting out of hours testing (such as on public holidays).

A recruitment campaign is underway to increase the overall number of driving examiners available for testing and the DVSA continues to assess further options for increasing testing capacity and reducing the backlog as quickly as possible. Ensuring a COVID-secure service is maintained for its staff and candidates remains a priority.