HC Deb 25 October 1979 vol 972 cc274-5W
Mr. Dixon

asked the Minister of Transport what is the percentage of passes and failures at the Jarrow driving test centre; how this compares with other centres in the area; how the northern test centres compared with other parts of the United Kingdom; what is the backlog at the Jarrow centre; and how it compares with other centres.

Mr. Kenneth Clarke

The pass rate for tests taken at the Jarrow centre during the first nine months of this year was 46.6 per cent. The pass rate in the Northern traffic area was 45.7 per cent, and, nationally, 47.4 per cent.

Comparative waiting periods for tests are:

  • Jarrow—19 weeks.
  • Northern traffic area—20 weeks.
  • Estimated national average—28 weeks.

Mr. Heddle

asked the Minister of Transport what the average waiting period for a driving test is in (a) Lichfield and Tamworth, (b) Staffordshire and (c) the West Midlands as a whole.

Mr. Kenneth Clarke

The average waiting periods are:

  1. (i) Lichfield—29 weeks. There is no centre at Tamworth.
  2. (ii) Staffordshire—28 weeks.
  3. (iii) West Midlands—31 weeks.