Kettering driving test delays and cancellation problems voiced in Parliament as MP raises issue of booking test 'bots'

She spoke in a debate in Westminster Hall on Wednesday (October 16) on behalf of driving instructors and those looking to lose their L-plates who had contacted her about the issue.

In April 2015 the average wait for a test at the Orion Way test centre was just eight-and-a-half weeks but over the recent summer months some learner drivers were waiting for six months locally.

Ms Wrighting said: “The long waits faced by learner drivers in Kettering, Desborough, Rothwell, Burton Latimer and our villages are simply unacceptable.

“The previous Conservative government never got a grip on tackling the backlog caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and it is not fair on local people, many of which are young adults whose access to work opportunities is hampered if they are unable to drive.

“I was pleased to hear the roads minister confirm that 250 new driving examiners have been recruited this year, with another 200 to come, and that they are also looking at how tests are booked and managed.”

Ms Wrighting raised the frustration shared by local people at the lack of available driving tests, with slots released at 6am each Monday and regularly all gone by 6.10am, and how bots are booking tests which are then sold for up to £250 on social media.

She also raised the frequent cancellation of tests, with 363 cancelled at Kettering’s test centre between April 2023 and March this year, and the impact it is having on learner drivers whose access to work opportunities is hampered as a result of the delays.

Tony Hookings, chairman of Kettering and District Driving Instructors Association, said: "Local driving instructors are frustrated by the delays and cancellations and learner drivers are confused and angry.

“I'm pleased that Rosie has been able to bring this issue to Parliament so that the government is aware of how it is affecting people in Kettering."