§ Mrs. DunwoodyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what factors underlie the increase in the time taken by applicants for438W the knowledge examination to progress from (a) initial talk to first appearance and (b) first appearance to becoming licensed. [54524]
§ Ms Glenda JacksonThe increase in time over the years between initial talk and first appearance has been due to different factors at different times. These include the introduction of a requirement to learn all the designated runs before a first appearance, rather than only a proportion, in order to reduce the overall time taken to complete the Knowledge; the limited number of knowledge examiners at various times; the introduction of a written test which must be passed before the first appearance, in order to reduce the demand on Knowledge examiners' time; and the increasing complexity of the information candidates need to learn, arising from changes in London traffic management systems.
The increase in time between first appearance and becoming licensed is partly due to the increasing complexity of what needs to be learned, but also to the significant increase in the number of candidates studying for the Knowledge. The Public Carriage Office have recently recruited extra examiners.
§ Mrs. DunwoodyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how long the average waiting time was for the first appearance for the knowledge examination in(a) 1980, (b) 1985, (c) 1990, (d) 1995 and (e) 1997. [54525]
§ Ms Glenda JacksonThe answer of 3 March 1998,Official Report, column 549, gave comparisons of the period of time between initial talk and first appearance for the years 1987, 1992 and 1997. The Public Carriage Office do not keep separate records of the period between the first appearance being requested and being granted.