WIREDGOV

Saturday driving tests

DRIVING STANDARDS AGENCY News Release (DSA 22/08) issued by The Government News Network on 18 June 2008

The Driving Standards Agency is writing to learner driver candidates who have booked practical tests on a Saturday since November 2005, to offer a refund for overpayment of fees caused by accidental overcharging and to apologise for the error.

We are taking this action because of an error in regulations made on 1 November 2005 which had the unintended consequence of removing the differential between normal weekday hours and Saturday charges for taking a test. The refund offered is the premium paid for a Saturday test, currently £10.50 for a car test.

An amending regulation has now been laid in Parliament to reinstate in law the intended differential in fees. The Agency is obliged to recover administrative costs through fees, including the extra costs of Saturday operation, for example in overtime. Tests booked from 7 July onwards will be charged at the intended Saturday rate of £67.00

The Driving Standards Agency apologises for the error and is contacting all those affected, but customers can speak direct to the Agency's advisers by calling (0191) 201 4098 if they want information in the meantime. DSA believes around 270,000 candidates will be affected.

Background note:

Current fee rates are:

CATEGORY   DRIVING TEST                  EXTENDED
                 FEE                           DRIVING TEST
                                               FEE
                 During       Out of hours     During normal  Out of hours
                 normal hours                  hours
      A1, A & P  £60.00       £70.00           £120.00        £140.00
      B1, B, F,  £56.50       £67.00           £113.00        £134.00
      G, H & K
      B+E, C1,   £105.00      £125.00          No extended    No extended
      C1+E, D1,                                test for these test for
      D1+E, C,                                 categories.    these
      C+E, D &                                                categories.
      D+E 

For further information please contact DSA Press Office on 0115 936 6135/6137.

Notes to Editors:

1. The Driving Standards Agency (DSA) is an executive agency * of the Department for Transport.

2. The DSA's vision is "Safe Driving for Life" with an overall mission to contribute towards a Government target of achieving a 40% reduction in riders and drivers killed or seriously injured in road accidents, in the age group up to 24 years, by 2010.

3. Current information on road casualties is available from the Department for Transport website: http://www.dft.gov.uk

4. The Agency's aim is to promote road safety through setting standards for drivers, riders and trainers, testing drivers and riders fairly and efficiently, maintaining the registers of Approved Driving Instructors; Large Goods Vehicle Instructors; Fleet Trainers; Driving Instructor Trainers and Post Test Motorcycle Trainers; supervising Compulsory Basic Training (CBT) for learner motorcyclists; and driver education and the provision of learning resources.

5. DSA is a trading fund * with an expected turnover of around £199 million for the year 2008/9, fully funded by fee income and revenue from its activities.

6. DSA employs over 2,700 staff, of which some 2,000 are driving examiners based at over 400 test centres across mainland Great Britain. In 2007/2008 the Agency conducted 1.8 million practical tests for car drivers, over 95,000 vocational tests and 94,000 motorcycle rider tests. A total of 1.7 million theory tests were carried out at 158 centres. At the end of the year there were around 43,600 people on the Register of Approved Driving Instructors.

7. DSA was one of the first Government Agencies to introduce an online booking service. Candidates can book and manage their theory and practical test appointments on line at http://www.direct.gov.uk/drivingtest

* Executive agency:
An executive agency is semi-detached from its parent department and manages its own budget with freedom from ad hoc, day to day intervention and much of central, government-wide regulation. They are run under the organisation and direction of a Chief Executive recruited through open competition. An executive agency has accountability for the performance of specific operational tasks as a corporate unit, including focused performance targets set by the parent department and personal accountability of the chief executive for performance.

* Trading Fund:
A trading fund is a means of financing trading activities
undertaken by Government that would previously have been financed
by annual appropriation from Parliament. A trading fund permits the establishment of a self-accounting unit that remains under the control and management of Ministers and accountable to Parliament through Ministers, but has greater freedom to manage its financial affairs. Effectively that means the trading fund body can use its income to settle its liabilities and retain year-end cash balances.

Establishing the trading fund does not alter the Agency's constitutional position and it remains part of the Department for Transport.