§ Mr. Hancockasked the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what is the length of the average waiting time for a driving test in Hampshire at present; and how many people were on that list as of 1 November;
(2) what is the length of the average waiting time for a driving test in Portsmouth at present; and how many people were on that list on 1 November 1985.
§ Mrs. ChalkerRecords are kept by individual driving test centres, not specifically by county. The average waiting times, which are far too long, and the number of applicants waiting to take a test at each driving test centre in Hampshire were (at 12 November 1985, when the records were consulted) as follows:
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Average waiting period (weeks) Number of applicants outstanding Aldershot 18 2,017 Basingstoke 16 1,890 Farnborough 27 3,632 Southampton (Forest Hills Drive) 13 2,043 Southampton (Maybush) 19 3,331 Gosport 16 2,469 Portsmouth 21 4,526 Winchester 16 1,275 Recruitment and training is already reducing unacceptably long waiting periods. We are continuing to recruit as rapidly as we can by accelerating procedures where possible and intensifying the training of new entrants.