Written questions by Ferguson.

What recent steps she has taken to help reduce waiting lists for Approved Driving Instructor exams; and what recent progress her Department has made in reducing those backlogs.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is seeing an increased demand for Approved Driving Instructor (ADI) tests for those wishing to qualify as driving instructors. Since 2018-19, DVSA has seen a 152% increase in the number of those applying to start the ADI qualification process. This number continues to rise significantly and has increased to over 19,000 in 2024-25, a 17% increase compared to 2023-24DVSA recommends trainee ADIs use the ‘Book to Hold’ service. All tests must be paid for at the time of booking, including where tests are booked to ‘hold’. This gives DVSA an accurate picture of where demand is, and it can then ensure that it deploys its examiner resources in the right areas. Once ADI examiner programmes have been finalised, the DVSA will contact those on the hold list in the order they booked their test to hold to arrange a test.DVSA aims to train four more ADI examiners by the end of 2025. The agency has an ongoing national campaign to recruit more ADI examiners. This will help to increase the number of available ADI tests.

What comparative estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of spending on road infrastructure in (a) the North East and (b) England over the last 15 years by (i) percentage of total Departmental spend and (ii) per head.

Figures on public sector expenditure at national and regional levels are published as part of HM Treasury’s Country and Regional Analysis (CRA) statistics (available here for current and previous publications: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/country-and-regional-analysis). In the most recent publication, figures are provided from 2019/20 to 2023/24.The figures included below are in 2023/24 prices.In 2023/24, capital expenditure for the Department of Transport and its partner bodies on national and local roads was £284m in the North East of England and £3,754m in England. Capital expenditure on national and local roads in the North East of England was 0.94% of total Department for Transport expenditure. Capital expenditure on national and local roads in England was 12.39% of total Department for Transport expenditure.Department for Transport Expenditure and Capital Expenditure on national and local roads by Selected Regions, 2023/24 prices, £m (2019/20 to 2023/24)Expenditure2019/202020/212021/222022/232023/24Total DfT Expenditure25,01035,11332,39330,03930,306Capital Expenditure in North East England: national roads and local roads193315301369284As a Proportion of Total DfT Expenditure0.77%0.90%0.93%1.23%0.94%Capital Expenditure in England: national roads and local roads4,0494,1763,5633,6413,754As a Proportion of Total DfT Expenditure16.19%11.89%11.00%12.12%12.39% Applying regional population estimates from the ONS to HMT’s Country and Regional Analysis data allows for a view of per capita spend by region. In 2023/24, capital expenditure per capita on national and local roads was £105 in the North East of England and £65 in England.Department for Transport Capital Expenditure on national roads and local roads by Selected Regions £ per capita, 2023/24 prices, (2019/20 to 2023/24)Region2019/202020/212021/222022/232023/24North East England73119114138105England7274636465 The Government remains committed to driving prosperity across the United Kingdom, ensuring that growth is felt at both a regional and national level.

What estimate she has made of the (a) total cost to the public purse for, (b) proportion of her Department’s total expenditure that was spent on and (c) spend per head for transport infrastructure in (a) the North East and (b) England the last 15 years.

Figures on public sector expenditure at national and regional levels are published as part of HM Treasury’s Country and Regional Analysis (CRA) statistics (Available here for current and previous publications: ‌https:/‌‌/​‌‌‌www.gov.‌uk/​‌‌‌‌‌government/collections/‌‌​country-and-regional-‌analysis). In the most recent publication, figures are provided from 2019/20 to 2023/24.In 2023/24, capital expenditure from the Department for Transport and its partner bodies was £489m in the North East of England and £17,298m in England. Capital expenditure in the North East of England was 1.6% as a proportion of total Department for Transport expenditure. Capital expenditure in England was 57.1% as a proportion of total Department for Transport expenditure.Department for Transport Expenditure by Selected Regions, 2023/24 prices, £m (2019/20 to 2023/24)Expenditure2019/202020/212021/222022/232023/24Total Expenditure25,01035,11332,39330,03930,306Capital Expenditure in North East England336480511549489As a Proportion of Total Expenditure1.3%1.4%1.6%1.8%1.6%Capital Expenditure in England13,18614,48516,67516,95917,298As a Proportion of Total Expenditure52.7%41.3%51.5%56.5%57.1% Applying regional population estimates from the ONS to HMT’s Country and Regional Analysis data allows for a view of per capita spend by region. In 2023/24, capital expenditure per capita from the Department for Transport was £180 in the North East of England and £300 in England.Department for Transport Capital Expenditure by Selected Regions per capita, 2023/24 prices, £ (2019/20 to 2023/24)Region2019/202020/212021/222022/232023/24North East England127182193205180England234257295297300 The Government remains committed to driving prosperity across the United Kingdom, ensuring that growth is felt at both a regional and national level.