Committee publication · Correspondence · 12 November 2025 · HC 437

Letter from the Minister for Roads and Buses, Department for Transport relating to driving test waiting times, dated 10 November 2025

Summary

The Minister for Roads and Buses responds to the Transport Committee's inquiry about DVSA's progress on reducing driving test waiting times. DVSA conducted 1.96 million tests in 2024/25 and delivered 42,000 additional tests between June–September 2025, recruited 316 new examiners, and implemented a £5,000 retention payment. The letter attributes rising demand to a 30% increase in provisional licence applications since 2018, upward theory test pass rates among 17-year-olds, and projected 7.3% UK population growth. A new driver services platform begins beta testing on 1 September 2025.

Key findings

DVSA conducted 1.96 million tests in 2024/25 (up from 1.8 million in 2022/23) and delivered 42,000 extra tests June–September 2025 versus the same period in 2024
Provisional driving licence applications increased by 30% (312,000 additional applications) between 2018 and 2024, a primary driver of test demand
316 new driving examiners recruited since July 2024; current examiner attrition rate is 12% as at September 2025
£5,000 extraordinary payment offered to all driving examiners in post on 1 September 2025 who remain until 31 August 2026
New driver services platform replacing two-decades-old systems; beta work began 1 September 2025 with focus on car practical test booking; NAO investigation expected to publish findings in winter 2025/26

Tone

Procedural

Topics

transport-policydriving-testspublic-servicesworkforce-recruitment

Key actors

Ruth Cadbury MP, Simon Lightwood MP, DVSA (Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency), National Audit Office, Department for Transport, Secretary of State

Notable line

“DVSA fully acknowledges car practical driving test waiting times remain high and understands the impact this continues to have on learner drivers.”

Key Quotes

“DVSA fully acknowledges car practical driving test waiting times remain high and understands the impact this continues to have on learner drivers.”
— Simon Lightwood MP, Minister for Roads and Buses · Opening statement on the severity of the problem

“… the agency conducted 1.96 million tests in 2024/25, compared to 1.8 million tests in 2022/23”
— Simon Lightwood MP, Minister for Roads and Buses · Progress on test capacity

“Between 2018 and 2024, the number of provisional licence applications increased by 30%, an additional 312,000 applications”
— Simon Lightwood MP, Minister for Roads and Buses · Primary driver of increased demand for tests

“25,459 car driving tests have been carried out since June”
— Simon Lightwood MP, Minister for Roads and Buses · Additional testing allowance incentive scheme results

“… the current rate of attrition for driving examiners is 12% as at September”
— Simon Lightwood MP, Minister for Roads and Buses · Examiner retention challenge

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Source · parliament.uk record ↗