Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 16 July 2026 to Question 18160 on Buses: Driving Tests, whether she has undertaken analysis of the reasons for the number of category D1 practical driving tests conducted in 2025 being 24 per cent lower than in 2019; and what assessment she has made of the potential impact of that reduction on the availability of qualified minibus drivers.

The Department has not undertaken a specific analysis of the reduction in category D1 practical driving tests between 2019 and 2025, or assessed its impact on the availability of qualified minibus drivers.

The number of tests conducted does not, by itself, indicate the number of qualified minibus drivers available. Since November 2021, the vocational practical test has also been split into separate off-road and on-road modules, with the published D1 figures recording the on-road test.