§ Mr. SpellarTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is his Department's estimate of the scale of fraud in taking driving tests; and what steps are being taken to prevent abuse.
§ Mr. KeyResponsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Driving Standards Agency under its chief executive, Dr. Ford, and I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given. The agency's deputy chief executive, Mr. Lobo, will answer in Dr. Ford's absence on leave.
Letter from G. Lobo to Mr. John Spellar, dated 12 July 1994:
The Secretary of State has asked the Chief Executive to reply to your question about preventing fraud at the driving test. I am replying as Dr. Ford is on annual leave.621WThe driving test provides an important safeguard for road safety and the risk of impersonation of driving test candidates is viewed seriously. A conviction could lead to a £5,000 fine or 2 years imprisonment.Test candidates are required to establish their identity at the start of the test, normally by showing the examiner their provisional driving licence. Candidates also provide a signature and examiners check that against the signature on candidates' driving licences. Driving examiners are trained to distinguish between experienced and learner drivers. If there are grounds for suspicion the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency can delay issuing the licence until the matter has been fully investigated. This system will be further strengthened by the introduction of photographs on driving licences planned from July 1996.Notwithstanding recent well publicised instances of candidate impersonation, the Agency does not have evidence to indicate that this is a large scale problem. Over the last 12 months there have been nine convictions for the offence nationally compared with 1.7 million driving tests conducted, similar to the number in previous years.