Hello! This is the first update since the End The Backlog campaign was launched two months ago. Here’s what’s happened since then:
Driving test backlog updates:
In September, the DVSA released their annual accounts. These showed that the organisation fell far short of meeting its target of reducing average waiting times to 7 weeks by March 2024. Loveday Ryder, the head of DVSA, said that “all available steps” were being taken to address long waiting times. But “all available steps” have still yet to include a public acknowledgement of the scale of the problem – i.e. that there is a backlog of one million tests that needs to be addressed.
Also in the DVSA’s annual accounts, we learned that Loveday Ryder is paid £200k per year by the taxpayer… some of which appears to be a performance bonus. Oof.
In the last week, Lilian Greenwood, the minister responsible for DVSA, answered questions from at least 3 other members of Parliament on the driving test backlog. You can read her responses here, here, and here. Many other MPs have now asked questions on this topic too. While it’s great that there’s an increased level of attention on this topic, I for one think the responses are inadequate – because, you guessed it, they don’t acknowledge the problem. This characteristic response to Neil O’Brien, for instance, names a “shift in customer behaviour” (i.e. since it’s so hard to get a test, people start trying to book one much sooner, perhaps before they’ve even started lessons) as a factor contributing to low availability. No other possible causes are mentioned. While I’m sure the trend of earlier booking can’t help the situation, there is no mention of the perfectly understandable reason for this “shift in booking behaviour” – that reason being that there is a million-strong backlog left over from Covid lockdowns currently making the system functionally unusable, and that it will remain unusable until that backlog is cleared.
On Wednesday 16th October there will be a Westminster Hall debate on driving test availability. You can watch this online via Parliament TV, or read the official transcript afterwards. You can also attend in person for free!
In the media:
Since launching, the End The Backlog campaign has featured in The Times, The Telegraph, and The Economist.
We’ve also been on the radio! You might have heard us on LBC, Heart, 103.1 Central FM, or Greatest Hits Norfolk and Suffolk.
Tortoise’s Sensemaker podcast did an episode on the driving test backlog last week, featuring an interview with journalist Lara Olszowska. Lara found herself banned from the driving test booking site after an unofficial booking agent stole her personal details and used them to spam the site. She wrote about this shocking experience in May for TimeOut.
End The Backlog petition:
The petition to introduce surge capacity to clear the backlog has received over 33,000 signatures in its first two months! Please do sign if you haven’t already, and share on social media.
That’s all for now - until next time! As always, do reach out if you have anything to say on this, or want to share your story. We can be reached by email at drivingtestbacklog@gmail.com, and on Twitter @EndTheBacklogUK. More info on our website: www.endthebackloguk.weebly.com.