Aberdeenshire North and Moray East MP Seamus Logan has raised the length of time local residents are having to wait for a driving test with the UK Government’s Department for Transport.
Current waiting times in the North-east range from 6 weeks at the Huntly Test Centre to 24 weeks at Fraserburgh Test Centre.
Mr Logan has received an assurance in a response from Transport Minister Lilian Greenwood that it is actively recruiting and training more driving examiners, including locally.
In her letter to Mr Logan, Transport Minister Lilian Greenwood stated:
“The DVSA [Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency] has continuously advertised for driving examiners (DE) in all of its recruitment campaigns in the Aberdeenshire area. Unfortunately, it has lost three DEs in the last 12 months due to retirements. The agency plans to recruit more examiners from their most recent campaigns which will enable them to service the needs of the rural communities, as part of their national plan to recruit 450 new examiners.”
Commenting, Seamus Logan MP said:
“I welcome this assurance from the Minister that resources are going into active recruitment and training for new driving examiners to fill posts in the North-east.
“In a predominantly rural area such as ours, a car is often a necessity in order to get to work so it is important that people in those areas are not disadvantaged by long waiting periods for driving tests.”
Current waiting times for practical tests as at 27 May 2025 are:
Inverurie – 24 weeks
Peterhead – 17 weeks
Fraserburgh – 24 weeks
Banff – 17 weeks
Huntly – 6 weeks
Buckie – 15 weeks
