§ Mr. Hancockasked the Secretary of State for Transport how many people applied each year since 1980 for Ministry of Transport driving instruction tests; and if he will list the pass/fail rate.
§ Mr. Peter BottomleyThe qualifying examination for the Department of Transport's register of approved driving instructors is made up of both written and practical parts. In May 1985 the practical test was split into two constituent parts of driving ability and instruction ability, taken separately.
The following figures represent attempts made; records do not distinguish between first and subsequent attempts by the same person.
Written Year Attempts Pass rate per cent. 1980 4,821 71.3 1981 5,265 75.0 1982 5,894 47.5 1983 6,285 49.9 1984 8,308 52.1 1985 8,313 61.1 311W
Practical Year Attempts Pass rate per cent. 1980 4,697 48.6 1981 5,419 45.7
Year Attempts Pass rate per cent. 1982 4,981 44.6 1983 4,766 43.2 1984 6,221 41.1 1985 *10,798 47.2 * Two-part examination from May 1985.
§ Mr. Hancockasked the Secretary of State for Transport if there are any plans to revise the Ministry of Transport driving instruction test; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Peter BottomleyThe Department of Transport's qualifying examination for the register of approved driving instructors is kept under continuous review. The written part was completely revised in 1982 with the introduction of a multiple choice answer format. Four new papers in this format are being introduced in April this year to replace the original four introduced at that time.
The expected standard of the applicant's own driving ability was raised in 1984 and a higher standard for the instructional ability test was introduced in May 1985.
1 January 1981 8 November 1982 1 June 1983 1 April 1984 1 April 1985 5 March 1986 Aldershot 5 5 5 3 4 5 Basingstoke * 2 2 1 3 4 Farnborough 5 5 4 4 4 6 Gosport 5 5 5 5 5 5 Portsmouth 6 7 7 7 6 7 Southampton (FHD) 4 6 6 5 5 5 Southampton (Maybush) 7 6 6 6 5 7 Winchester 5 3 3 3 4 4 * Opened 1 August 1981. The number of people working at each centre alters and there will have been fluctuations both up and down in the periods between the figures quoted.
§ Mr. Hancockasked the Secretary of State for Transport how many representations he has received asking for a change in the way driving licences are issued.
§ Mr. Michael SpicerI am afraid this information is not readily available. But there is little evidence of recent complaint about centralised issue of driving licences.
§ Mr. Hancockasked the Secretary of State for Transport how the Ministry of Transport driving instruction test compares to regulations in other European Economic Community countries.
§ Mr. Peter BottomleyIt is not possible to draw simple comparisons between arrangements for driving instruction in the various member states of the EEC because systems and conditions differ widely and are related closely to local licensing and testing practices. I am satisfied that the present examination for entry to the register of approved driving instructors is adequate.