Wakefield Driving Instructors Association

For Cars & Motorcycles

DSA Bulletin Board

DSA 17/08

18 April 2008

Driving examiner strike – candidates to attend

tests

The Driving Standards Agency is urging all driving test candidates booked to take a test on

Thursday 24 April to turn up regardless of the threat of strike action by examiners who are

members of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union. The strike is part of the national

PCS action.

Driving Standards Agency’s Chief Executive Rosemary Thew said: “Not all examiners are

members of the PCS union and even if they are, we cannot be sure that they will not turn up for

work. We therefore want candidates to attend so that practical tests can be delivered if possible.

Theory tests are not affected and will be taking place as planned.”

If no examiner is available for a test, a new date will automatically be re-booked by DSA and the

candidate will be sent an out of pocket expenses form along with details of the new test. If

candidates fail to turn up they will not be able to claim out of pocket expenses if their tests are

cancelled and they will need to re-book their own tests.

“Candidates who turn up but are unable to take their tests because of industrial action will not

have to contact DSA to re-book," said Ms Thew. "They should hear from us with a new date

within five to ten working days. We apologise for the inconvenience this will cause."

Call centres and other DSA offices may also be affected. Customers who wish to book a

practical test will still be able to use our internet booking service on www.direct.gov.uk . Further

details about out of pocket expenses are available on DSA’s website on www.dsa.gov.uk .

For further information please contact DSA Press Office on 0115 901 5953/4.

DSA 014/08

14 March 2008

Driving examiner strike – candidates to attend

tests

The Driving Standards Agency is urging all driving test candidates booked to

take tests just before and after Easter to turn up regardless of the threat of strike

action by examiners who are members of the Public and Commercial Services

(PCS) union.

The union is urging its driving examiners to strike for 2.5 hours in the morning

on Thursday 20 March and for 1.5 hours in the morning on Tuesday 25

March.

Non-examiner and administrative staff are also being asked to strike for half a

day on the morning of Thursday 20 March. PCS is also asking members to

ban overtime over the Easter weekend, from Good Friday until Easter Monday.

Driving Standards Agency’s Chief Executive Rosemary Thew said: “Not all

examiners are members of the PCS union and even if they are, we cannot be

sure that they will not turn up for work. We therefore want candidates to attend

so that practical tests can be delivered if possible. Theory tests are not affected

and will be taking place as planned.”

If no examiner is available for a test, a new date will automatically be re-booked

by DSA and the candidate will be sent an out of pocket expenses form along

with details of the new test. If candidates fail to turn up they will not be able to

claim out of pocket expenses if their tests are cancelled and they will need to rebook

their own tests.

“Candidates who turn up but are unable to take their tests because of industrial

action will not have to contact DSA to re-book," said Ms Thew. "They should

hear from us with a new date within five to ten working days. We apologise for

the inconvenience this will cause.”

Call centres and other DSA offices may also be affected. Customers who wish

to book a practical test will still be able to use our internet booking service on

www.direct.gov.uk . Further details about out of pocket expenses are available

on DSA’s website on www.dsa.gov.uk .

For further information please contact DSA Press Office on 0115 901

5953/4.

Notes to Editor:

1. The Driving Standards Agency (DSA) is an executive agency of the

Department for Transport.

2. Information on road casualties is available on the Department for

Transport website www.dft.gov.uk

3. The Agency’s aim is to promote road safety through improving driving

standards, testing drivers and riders fairly and efficiently, maintaining

the registers of Approved Driving Instructors and Large Goods Vehicle

Instructors and Post Test Motorcycle Trainers as well as supervising

basic training for learner motorcyclists.

4. DSA is a trading fund with an expected turnover of around £164 million

for the year 2007/8, fully funded by fee income and revenue from its

activities.

5. DSA employs 2657 (2,585 full time equivalent), of which some 2,020

are driving examiners (1945 full time equivalent) based at over 432 test

centres across mainland Great Britain. In 2006/2007 the Agency

conducted 1.8 million practical tests for car drivers, 89,000 vocational

tests and 78,000 motorcycle rider tests. A total of 1.5 million theory

tests were carried out at 158 centres. At the end of the year there were

39,001 people on the Register of Approved Driving Instructors.

6. DSA is 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 www.direct.gov.uk/drivingtest

SATURDAY DRIVING TESTS

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:

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: 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 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

undertakenby 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.