Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the availability of driving tests in Eastleigh constituency; what assessment she has made of trends in the level of driving test waiting times and test centre capacity in Hampshire; and what steps she is taking to reduce waiting times and improve access to driving tests.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is intensifying its efforts to reduce waiting times and improve access to driving tests, including in Eastleigh and Hampshire.

For test centres serving the Eastleigh area, DVSA has made offers of employment to 14 new potential driving examiners; 12 of which are currently awaiting pre-employment checks and two who have passed these checks are currently awaiting training. Since January 2026, seven new driving examiners have begun testing in this area. A full-time DE can be expected to add approximately 1,200 tests per year to the booking system.

The table below shows the number of tests booked and available at the driving test centres (DTCs) serving the Eastleigh constituency as of 11 May 2026.

Between June 2025 – April 2026, at the DTCs above, DVSA conducted 409 additional car practical driving tests in overtime, when compared to the equivalent overtime scheme between June 2024 – March 2025. This increase can largely be attributed to the additional test allowance scheme the agency introduced in June 2025.