Learner drivers face more than a year of prolonged waits for tests, after the transport secretary admitted the government's target to cut delays to seven weeks will not be met until autumn next year.
Heidi Alexander told a committee of MPs on Wednesday that the backlog remains stubbornly high, with average waiting times to book a test still nearly 22 weeks last month, according to Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) figures. Before the pandemic, the typical wait was about five weeks.
“Driving test wait target of seven weeks pushed back to autumn 2026 as average wait hits 22 weeks.”
“My aspiration is to get us back down to a point where when someone is booking a test, they’re not having to wait months on end to get one, which is the situation for some people in some locations at the moment,” Alexander said.
Her admission marks the second time the target has been pushed back. The DVSA initially aimed for a seven-week average by the end of 2025, but Alexander moved that to summer 2026 last November – and now concedes even that deadline is unachievable.
The transport secretary acknowledged the frustration of learners, insisting the government has “done a lot” to tackle the issue, but added that “demand is still very high” and there remains “a lot of work to do”.
The BBC has repeatedly heard from learner drivers struggling to book tests when and where they need them. Some have resorted to buying slots from resellers who charge many times the official fee. A BBC investigation in December found some driving instructors were being offered kickbacks of up to £250 a month in exchange for selling their login details to touts.
In response, a series of changes have been introduced to the booking system since last November. At the end of March, a new rule limited changes to a booked slot to just two – for example, switching the date or test centre location. Since 12 May, only pupils themselves can book their test, rather than instructors or others. And from 9 June, anyone wanting to move a test can only switch to one of the three test centres closest to the original booking – a move designed to stop learners booking the soonest available slot anywhere, then swapping it to a more convenient location.
Alexander told MPs it was too early to draw firm conclusions, but pointed to evidence that speculative booking has already declined since the latest measures took effect. She said the volume of test swaps had dropped by 70%.
A persistent challenge has been recruiting and retaining enough driving examiners. Alexander said there had been a net increase of 147 examiners in the 12 months to May. But with average waits still above 20 weeks, and the target more than a year away, many learners face a long road ahead.