Driving Tests (Hansard, 16 June 1994)

§ Mr. Key

Responsibility for the subject of the questions 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.

Letter from S. J. Ford to Mrs. Gwyneth Dunwoody, dated 8 June 1994:

Driving Standards Agency The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to the questions you have raised about DSA's operations.

PQ 2461/93/94 You asked about the costs to public funds following the liquidation of the contractor employed to build the new driving test centre at Worcester, what steps were taken to recover this and why the figures were not included in the Agency's financial report. Enquiries have been made with the Agency's Managing Agent for the Worcester scheme and with the Contractor Management Information System operated by the Department of the Environment Property Holdings. The Agency has no information to suggest that the contractors concerned with the Worcester scheme have been in receivership or liquidation.

635W

PQ 2462/93/94 You asked which Driving Standards Agency test centres currently provide a motorcycle riding test facility and which of these are to close. A list of the centres, with those scheduled for closure indicated, is below:

Aberdeen, Balgownie Road
Abergavenny
Aberystwyth
Aldershot
Ammanford
Arbroath
Arran
Ashford (Kent)
Aylesbury
Ayr
Ballachulish
Ballater
Banbury
Banff
Bangor
Barnet
Barnsley
Barnstaple
Barra
Barrow
^*Bath (to close on 15 July 1994)
Bedford
Belvedere
Benbecula
Berwick-on-Tweed
Bettyhill
Birmingham, Kingstanding
Birmingham, South Yardley
Blackburn
Blackpool
Bletchley
Blyth
Bodmin
Bolton
Boston
Bournemouth
Bradford, Wibsey
Bridgend
^*Bridgwater (to close on 22 July 1994)
Brighton
Bristol, Brislington
Broadstairs
Burton-on-Trent
Bury St. Edmunds
Cambridge, Brooklands Avenue
Campbeltown
Cardiff, Cathays Terrace
Cardigan
Carlisle
Carmarthen
Chelmsford
Cheltenham
Chester
Chesterfield
Chichester
Chingford
Chippenham
Chorley
Cleethorpes
Colchester
Coventry, Mason Road
Crawley
Cupar
Darlington
Derby, Sinfin Lane
Derby, Chaddesden
Dingwall
Doncaster
Dorchester
Dumbarton
Dumfries
Dundee
Dunfermline
Durham
Eastbourne
Edinburgh, Joppa
Edinburgh, Parkhead
Elgin
^*Evesham (to close on 16 June 1994)
Exeter
Falkirk
Failsworth
Folkestone
Fort Augustus
Fort William
Fraserburgh
Gairloch
Galashiels
Gateshead
Gillingham
Glasgow, Anniesland
Glasgow, Shawlands
Glasgow, Shettleston
Gloucester
Golspie
Gosport
Grantham
Grantown-on-Spey
Gravesend
Greenford, Ruislip Road
Greenock
Guildford
Halifax
Hamilton
Harrogate
Hartlepool
Haverfordwest
Helmsdale
Hendon
Hereford
Heysham
Hexham
Hinckley
Hornchurch
Horsforth
Hull, Chamberlain Road
Huntly
Inveraray
Inverness
Inverurie
Ipswich
Islay
Isles of Scilly
Keighley
Kendal
Kenton Bar
Kettering
Kilmarnock
King's Lynn
Kingussie
Kirkcaldy
Kyle of Lochalsh
Lairg
Lampeter
Launceston
Leicester, Gipsy Lane
Leighton Buzzard
Lewis
Leamington
Lichfield
Lincoln
Liverpool, Crosby
Llandrindod Wells
Lochgilphead
Loughborough
Lowestoft
Lower Gornal
Macclesfield
Mallaig
Manchester, Cheetham Hill
Melton Mowbray
Merthyr Tydfil
Middlesborough
Minehead
Monmouth
Montrose
Mull
Newcastle-under-Lyme
Newport
Newport (IOW)
Newton Abbot
Newton Stewart
Newtown
Northampton
Northwich
Norwich, Jupiter Road
Nottingham, Gedling
Nottingham, West Bridgford
Oban
Orkney
Oxford
Penzance
Perth
Peterborough
Peterhead
Pinner
Plymouth
Portsmouth
Reading
Redditch
Rhyl
Rotherham (from 1 July 1994)
Rugby
Salisbury
Scarborough
Scunthorpe
Shetland
Shrewsbury
Sidcup
Skye, Portree
Southend-on-Sea
Southampton
Southport
St. Albans
Stirling
Strontian
Sutton
Sutton-in-Ashfield
Swansea
Swindon
Tain
Taunton
Thurso
Tiree
Truro
Tunbridge Wells
Ullapool
Wakefield
Wallasey
Wallington, Old Town Hall
Wellingborough
Wellington
^*Wells (to close on 15 July 1994)
Weston-super-Mare
Weybridge
Wick
Widnes
Wigan
Wolverhampton
Worcester (from June 16)
Workington
Worksop
Worthing
Wrexham
Yeovil
York

PQ 2466/93/94 You asked the reasons why the present block booking arrangements were being ended by the Driving Standards Agency and for a statement. As you may be aware, the Secretary of State for Transport recently tasked all parts of the Department to find 20 per cent, efficiency savings over the next two years and this package of measures will help the Agency to achieve its part. The Agency 638W announced in April a package of measures, to be introduced in October, designed to improve service and reduce costs by an estimated £148,000 annually. The package includes ending the present block booking arrangements. As waiting times for driving tests have continued to fall, the inflexibilities of allowing certain training bodies to reserve blocks of driving tests, without naming candidates or paying the test fee, has become/becoming increasingly uneconomic. Block booking involved DSA operating a parallel booking system with the attendant costs having to be recovered from candidates via the test fee. Also, it was unfair as well as inefficient as it prevented cancelled appointments being used by other prospective candidates and meant that examiner time was wasted, reducing productivity and further increasing costs. The revised arrangement will remove an uncompetitive practice which has been the subject of a recent query from the Office of Fair Trading. Trainers will still be able to plan courses and book tests on behalf of trainees, if that is what their pupils prefer, on payment of the relevant fee.

PQ 2484/93/94 You asked about the estimated demand for and costs to public funds of motorcycle tests for the next three years, the cost of providing examiners with protective equipment and the type and cost of motorcycles used for tests. The estimated demand for motorcycle tests is between 80,000 and 90,000 for each of the financial years 1994–95, 1995–96 and 1996–97. The Agency is currently conducting a tendering exercise for motorcycles to replace the present lease hire contract. Also a new specification for motorcycle clothing is being considered by the Agency with a view to inviting tenders for supply in Autumn 1994. The precise cost of providing the motorcycle testing service, and the types of bikes to be used, during the next three years will not be known until after the tendering exercises.

PQ 2497/93/94 You asked for the number of motorcycle and car tests conducted at the Evesham driving test centre over the last year and the previous three years as well as how many days a week examiners were employed at the centre. The figures are as follows:

Year	Cars	Motorcycles
April 1990 to March 1991	2,179	n/a
April 1991 to March 1992	1,906	n/a
April 1992 to March 1993	1,934	155
April 1993 to March 1994	1,760	221

Before April 1992 separate figures for motorcycle tests were not kept for outstation centres such as Evesham, where no driving examiners were permanently based. Examiners based at Redditch have been detached to the Evesham centre for between 2 to 4 days per week, depending on demand.