Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has assessed the potential merits of offering bonus payments to driving instructors for undertaking driving tests above their contracted duties.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) does not employ driving instructors. By law, approved driving instructors (ADI) cannot work as examiners at the same time as being a registered instructor, even temporarily.

Whilst DVSA does not have the power to either increase or limit the number of ADI, the number of instructors on DVSA’s ADI register has increased in the last few years.

The attached spreadsheet shows the number and percentage of practical driving test bookings, where the initial test candidate’s driving licence number was subsequently changed to a different driving test candidate’s licence number, in each month since March 2025.