HC Deb 26 October 1999 vol 336 cc795-6W
Mr. Field

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what proportion of practical driving tests were passed each year from 1983; and in which year the Driving Standards Agency became fully self-funding. [95540]

Ms Armstrong

Driving test pass rate data are not available for the years prior to 1989. Details for the financial years 1989–90 to 1998–99 are given in the following table.

Year Car Motorcycle Lorry Bus
1989–90 52.2 71.0 50.0 55.0
1990–91 52.4 52.0 51.0 55.0
1991–92 50.8 68.3 50.0 56.0
1992–93 49.75 69.70 50.0 53.0
1993–94 47.9 70.15 49.0 52.0
1994–95 46.9 70.5 47.5 70.5

Year Car Motorcycle Lorry Bus
1995–96 45.7 70.1 47.0 49.3
1996–97 44.7 67.5 48.1 48.7
1997–98 46.7 68.6 52.8 47.7
1998–99 45.9 67.9 51.8 47.8

The Driving Standards Agency became a Trading Fund in April 1997. Prior to that, it operated as an on-Vote non-statutory trading body, and was required to recover its full costs through fees and charges.