At the end of last week, the DVSA released a blog (see below)on the new changes to the driving test booking system, along with further actions aimed at reducing test waiting times, including the use of military examiners.

It followed a consultation exercise with ADIs and professional bodies across the industry.

However, there was some consternation about the process of announcing the policy changes, and the fact that it omitted any detailed references to the consultation results.

The latest Despatch Blog came after letters from the National Associations Strategic Partnership (NASP), as well as driver training associations wrote to the ministers involved, and the CEO of DVSA.

However, this latest DVSA Blog, published to expalin the decisions, has again been described as taking too long to be published, whilst failing to fully explain the changes, the decision making process, and the results of the industry consultation.

The following is the latest NASP statement on the issue.

NASP has publishes statement

“Whilst NASP welcomes the publication of this most recent blog by DVSA on tackling test waiting times, it has come more than a fortnight after the latest measures were announced, when most of us would have expected this type of communication to have come at the time of the announcement itself. Additionally, there are still important gaps in this blog, particularly surrounding the consultation and decision-making process as a whole. For example, it is disappointing that the detail has still not been released on what percentage of driving instructors (who completed the consultation) chose to have ADI access to booking tests removed. Furthermore, NASP was advised this summer that a further, post-consultation assessment of the impact of such measures would be carried out prior to any changes being implemented, yet we are still to see the results of that output assessment, which is important in terms of having any confidence that these measures, and their impacts, were fully thought through.

NASP fully supports attempts to limit bad actors from booking tests in order to sell them on for a profit. However, the majority of instructors should not be penalised for the actions of a tiny minority when the bigger culprits were non-ADIs.

We are further disappointed that the full set of FAQs we asked DVSA to respond to over a fortnight ago has only just been made available to disseminate alongside this blog. We wanted our members to see the many specific questions we asked on their behalf, and the relevant answers, and feel we have given the agency more than enough time to facilitate this. The reality is, a lot of these questions and answers should have been worked through by Ministers and DVSA before these latest measures were publicly announced.”

The DVSA Despatch Blog

Driving test booking service consultation – publishing the outcome and next steps

The outcome of the consultation on making the driving test booking service fairer was announced recently.  

Updating the driving test booking system is an essential part of modernising our services to deliver a safer, fairer experience for learners and instructors. 

Following the announcement, we recognise there has been a mixed reaction from the driver training industry. Particularly not having access to the full consultation outcome report and the supporting messages has caused frustration, confusion and uncertainty. 

Pauline Reeves, DVSA Director of Driver Services, has written about this in a blog post for Despatch. In her blog, Pauline covers: 

  • the concerns raised and provides reassurance and explains the background and content on why the changes are needed 
  • how the consultation process and reporting works 
  • our commitment to working with representative bodies from the driver training forum to make sure we get our engagement right and provide the guidance and support you need to prepare you for change 
  • the next steps  

You can read the blog post in full on the DVSA Despatch blog.