Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will take steps to increase the number of full time equivalent examiners at the Newton Abbot Driving Test Centre in the 2025-26 financial year.

On the 23 April, the Secretary of State for Transport announced that the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) will take further actions to reduce waiting times for all customers across Great Britain.

Since announcing these measures, DVSA has reintroduced overtime pay incentives for everyone delivering driving tests. The additional testing allowance scheme launched this month (June 2025).

The DVSA’s plan to reduce waiting times as set out in December last year, included recruiting and training 450 driving examiners (DE). As with all test centres in Great Britain, DVSA will assess the recruitment needs at Newton Abbot test centre when it launches any future recruitment campaigns.