Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Answer of 25 March 2026 to Question 122247 on Driving Tests: Vacancies, what assessment her Department has made of the lessons learned from the recruitment of driving examiners via Jobcentre Plus referrals; and whether these lessons are being applied to wider recruitment practices across the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) piloted the Department for Work and Pension's (DWP) Direct Temporary Recruitment scheme at six high‑vacancy driving examiner (DE) locations. From the pilot, DVSA made 37 job offers. Candidates are now undergoing pre-employment checks, and seven have already agreed training start dates.

The pilot was considered successful. DVSA is working with DWP to explore expanding it to more locations and adopting it as a regular recruitment route.

Due to the success of the pilot for DE roles, the approach has also been extended to other hard-to-fill DVSA roles, with job offers currently being made.