Latest news with #LovedayRyder
Daily Mail
7 days ago
- Automotive
- Daily Mail
DVSA drafts in 100 mental health first aiders as staff face anger at huge waits for driving tests across Britain
The Driver and Vehicle and Standards Agency (DVSA) has trained up more than 100 mental health first aiders amid pressures on staff to cut waiting times for driving tests. Britain's driving test backlog recently reached a new high with 631,472 future practical driving tests booked as of the end of May – up from 527,368 a year ago. Despite the growing demand, the number of tests conducted during the first five months of this year was 14 per cent lower than the same period in 2024. There were 757,867 tests taken between January and May, down from 877,387 a year earlier. As of March this year, the average waiting time for a practical car test was 21.9 weeks – up from 16.1 weeks in March 2024. The DVSA has a target of reducing car practical test waiting times to seven weeks or less by December this year. In the agency's annual report, chief executive Loveday Ryder admitted it was 'not on track' to meet that target despite providing 1.96million car driving tests in 2024–25. Some of those who have spent months trying to to book a test have complained about test slots across the country being sold via WhatsApp groups for more than double the normal price. As of March this year, the average waiting time for a practical car test was 21.9 weeks – up from 16.1 weeks in March 2024 'We recognise the impact this has on learner drivers across the country and on driving instructors and their businesses,' Ms Ryder wrote. 'We are doing all we can to address this, working with the Government quickly to develop a plan to tackle the car practical test waiting time.' She added: 'We recognise that there are no quick fixes and that we need to re–balance supply and demand for tests alongside tackling the systematic abuse of the test booking system.' The DVSA boss also acknowledged the pressures her staff were under to cut waiting times, amid plummeting satisfaction rates among learner drivers. She continued: 'Our commitment to colleague wellbeing was reflected in the launch of our comprehensive mental health strategy, which included training over 100 mental health first aiders across the organisation. 'This initiative has been particularly important given the pressures our colleagues have faced while working to reduce waiting times and meet customer expectations.' The driving tests backlog has been largely building since the Covid pandemic and has been rising since Labour came to power last summer. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said in April the Labour Government 'inherited an enormous backlog'. But she added that ministers were 'acting fast' to tackle the issue, with at least 10,000 extra tests to be available each month. The Government recently launched a consultation on amending the driving test booking system. This is with the aim of stopping bots from mass–booking new slots so they can be resold on the black market for inflated prices. Other measures in response to the backlog include instructing the DVSA to offer additional overtime payments to incentivise instructors to conduct more tests. Staff at the agency qualified to conduct tests are being asked to voluntarily return to the front line, while the number of permanent trainers for new examiners is being doubled. A DVSA spokesperson said last month: 'We know that many learners are still struggling to book driving tests, and we're working tirelessly to reduce waiting times and help more people get on the road. 'Despite this, there are currently over 630,000 learners who have a future test date secured – which is the highest number of test slots that we've ever seen booked. 'As we continue to make more tests available, the number of learners with a slot booked will continue to rise, providing more people with the opportunity to continue their learning journey.'
Telegraph
22-07-2025
- Automotive
- Telegraph
Driving examiners given mental health support to cope with furious learners
Driving examiners are being offered mental health support to cope with angry learners forced to wait months for a test. One hundred 'mental health first aiders' have been trained to help relieve the 'pressures' on staff grappling with the issues in Britain's driving test system, which has seen waiting times reach a record high. The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) said the initiative was a 'particularly important' resource for staff during ' this challenging period '. However, the revelations prompted backlash from campaigners, who said the taxpayer-funded agency should focus on lowering waiting times first. The TaxPayers' Alliance called for the Government to abolish the quango and contract driving tests out to the private sector. Loveday Ryder, the chief executive of the DVSA, praised the mental health project as an 'important' resource for staff under pressure. In her introduction to the DVSA's annual report, she said: 'Our commitment to colleague wellbeing was reflected in the launch of our comprehensive mental health strategy, which included training over 100 mental health first aiders across the organisation. 'This initiative has been particularly important given the pressures our colleagues have faced while working to reduce waiting times and meet customer expectations.' Nick Bitel, the DVSA's non-executive chairman, also hailed the agency's environmental achievements, pointing out that it reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 45 per cent since 2017-18. However, the report went on to confirm that the DVSA had missed its 'key target' to slash waiting times for practical tests, blaming a lack of examiners and rise in demand. The average wait time stood at around 22 weeks in March, up from 16 the previous year. The report said: 'We acknowledge, with regret, that these prolonged waiting times are negatively impacting our customers. 'This area of work is our number one priority.' 'The DVSA are a disgrace' As of February, only 14 centres had waiting times at or below seven weeks, which is the DVSA's nationwide target for the end of the year. Elliot Keck, the head of campaigns at the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: 'The DVSA are a disgrace and bring shame to the whole of the public sector. 'They are completely unable to deliver their core objective, yet still have the gall to boast about their achievements on reducing emissions and improving staff access to mental health services. 'Labour needs to be radical with this failing quango and at minimum should be completely clearing out senior management. Ideally they would be abolishing the body entirely and instead contracting out driving tests to the private sector.'
BBC News
10-06-2025
- Automotive
- BBC News
Driving test backlog making it 'impossible' for learners to book
Learner drivers in the West say they are resorting to using expensive cancellation websites in a desperate attempt to book their tests. With the official routes for booking tests oversubscribed, the BBC has been told that companies are block-booking appointments and selling them on to people unable to find a Bodkin, 24, from Cheltenham, said it was "impossible" to get a test through the official Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) website, and she and many of her peers had turned to the private apps as a last Ryder, DVSA chief executive, said the organisation had been working "tirelessly" to address the issues and reduce driving test waiting times. These unofficial companies will use the applicants' driving licence number to reserve a bulk amount of test appointments until they can resell them at a higher license number will then be changed to match the buyers'. Using these sites is what allows automated bots to exploit the driving test booking service, by getting users to provide the necessary details the companies need to hold the leaves those who are ready to take their test struggling to find one at a date and time of their choice. Nearly 27,000 people responded to a call for evidence from the DVSA between December and February. Of those, 93.1% said they had struggled with a lack of suitable test appointment slots. Ms Bodkin, who recently finished university and works as a freelance journalist for the BBC, said she had booked a test in October 2024 for March 2025, but had failed. "I waited until I felt like I was ready to book a test, which I think was probably not the right thing to do - I should have booked it ages ago," she said. With the end of her university in sight she put rebooking her test "on the back burner", only to find later that there were no tests available through the DVSA in Cheltenham or Gloucester until 2026. "Everyone is recommending the apps, which I know is the thing that is causing all the issues, but also I don't really want to be left behind when everyone is doing it," she added. With booking tests on the DVSA website "impossible", she said, her and her peers have been left "constantly checking" the apps for cancellations. The pressure of knowing another test would likely be a long way off if she failed "definitely added" to her nerves, Ms Bodkin said. Russell Marchant, who runs Bubble Driving School inSomerset, said many learners will cancel lessons to save money while they wait for their test. But this risks them forgetting what they have learnt and feeling unprepared when the time finally comes, he added."As soon as someone starts in the car, as soon as they've passed their theory, we encourage them to try and get a test booked because we know it's going to be six months down the line."Mr Merchant blames the Covid-19 pandemic for the mounting backlog, as postponed tests were continually added to the waiting list. "[there were] Four lockdowns and in all of them the DVSA were not testing," he explained."That caused a lot of instructors to find other jobs. We had examiners leave the industry and not come back." However, Ms Ryder told the BBC the DVSA had been "making good progress" on a plan to bring down waiting times, which was announced in December 2024. "[Our] goal is to make booking a driving test easier and fairer for everyone while preventing excessive charges for learner drivers," she added.
