Driving Examiner strike - candidates urged to attend tests

"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 and will
automatically receive a new test 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/drivingtest. 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 936 6133.

Notes to Editor:

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 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'

8. 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 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.