Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions she has had with the DVSA on waiting times for driving tests.

During the last 12 months, two driving examiners (DE) have retired in Ashfield. As a result of recruitment campaigns in Ashfield, in the last 12 months two new entrants were successful. One new entrant has completed their training and is conducting driving tests, the other new entrant, following successful completion of their training will start conducting tests in the next 7-8 weeks. A further new entrant will start their training on 23 June. In February, DVSA also transferred one examiner into Ashfield DTC.

DVSA has received applications for its current campaign for the Ashfield cluster. The agency anticipates additional new entrants for late Autum from this campaign. DVSA is continuing with its recruitment campaigns and will recruit as many DEs as possible.

The average and longest waiting times for a practical car driving test in Ashfield is shown in the table below:

Over the last 12 months, the regions that have experienced the longest driving test waiting times are in the South of England.

The average waiting time in days for a theory test at test centres that serve customers in Ashfield can be found in the tables below:

Derby

Nottingham

Chesterfield

*Please note, DVSA only holds data from when its new theory test booking service was implemented in September 2021. Theory test data availability is not measured in the same way as practical tests. DVSA’s relevant KPI for theory tests is the difference between the first confirmed booking date and the first confirmed test date, excluding bank holidays. Theory tests can be booked up to 6 months in advance.

I regularly meet with officials from DVSA to discuss various topics. The Secretary of State met with DVSA’s Chief Executive Officer, Loveday Ryder, on 21 May 2025 to discuss car practical driving test waiting times and other topics.