Driving test centres face closure in major transport cuts

• DVSA test centres face closure under Department for Transport cuts - while Britain pays the EU £121 million every week.
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• Vote to leave the EU on 23 June.

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A Department for Transport (DfT) strategy document on changes to UK motoring services agencies has revealed plans to closing driving test centres and cut jobs at Britain's already over-stretched motoring agencies.

The proposals, published in April, look at the future of the country’s three motoring agencies – the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) and the Vehicle Certification Authority (VCA).

Paragraph 4.5 of the strategy paper confirms that the "DVSA is also reviewing its driving test centre network" and, assuming closures, suggests that "land released in these ways will be suitable for housing."

In last year's Autumn Statement, the Chancellor George Osborne revealed that the Department for Transport would suffer 37% cuts to its operational budget - the biggest cut of all government departments.

Last year the average waiting time for a driving test date hit as long as two months, due to an existing shortage of DVSA examiners and a cost-cutting ban on overtime.

In Shropshire, for example, the wait is nearing three months, with learners in Telford being told that they must wait for at least 10 weeks before they can get a test date - according to a recent report in the Shropshire Star.

The closure of driving test centres as a result of financial shortfalls that could be resolved with a fraction of the
£121 million every week currently handed to the EU is only likely to exacerbate the existing problem and further delay people from enjoying the personal, family and employment advantages of driving.