Labour accused of fuelling youth unemployment crisis after quietly scrapping key target for tackling practical driving test backlog, leaving Andy Burnham red-faced ahead of joblessness announcement

Published: 15:19, 27 July 2026 | Updated: 15:19, 27 July 2026 Labour was today accused of fuelling the youth unemployment crisis after quietly scrapping a key target for tackling the driving test backlog. After winning the 2024 election, ministers pledged to reduce waiting times for a practical test to seven weeks by December 2025 to help young people become mobile and get on the career ladder. But the current average waiting time is now three times this (22 weeks), having soared from 18 weeks before Labour won the election. And the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA)’s latest annual report reveals the seven-week target has effectively been scrapped. Where it previously appeared in its annual report with a date next to it of December 2025, it now simply states: ‘No date set.’  The disclosure is embarrassing for new Prime Minister Andy Burnham, as it comes ahead of planned measures being announced as early as tomorrow insisting he has a plan to fix the youth unemployment crisis.   It comes after a government-commissioned review into youth unemployment by former health secretary Alan Milburn found a lack of transport was a major barrier to young people trying to get into work or training. Prime Minister Andy Burnham is set to give a speech in the coming days insisting he has a plan to fix the youth unemployment crisis  The Tories’ shadow transport secretary, Richard Holden, said 'deleting the target deadline does not delete the queue of young people stuck waiting months for a test'  The National Audit Office has cited a lack of examiners as partly to blame for backlogs and found many were leaving the profession ‘due to uncompetitive pay and safety concerns’  This was particularly the case for those without a driving licence or access to a car, the report found.  The Tories’ shadow transport secretary, Richard Holden, said: ‘Labour has not fixed the driving test backlog, they have simply stopped promising to fix it. ‘Deleting the target deadline does not delete the queue of young people stuck waiting months for a test they need to get to work, to college or to a job interview. ‘Conservatives would recruit more examiners, run overtime programmes to deliver up to 200,000 extra tests a year, and stop wasted appointments with proper standby lists.’ Mark Born, head of training at AA Driving School, said: 'To not have a target set for when they will now reach this [seven-week target] is a blow to learners who still face unacceptably high waiting times up and down the country. 'For many people, especially young people who are just becoming independent, being able to drive is vital to their ability to secure employment or get to their place of education. 'In short, the high waiting times to secure a driving test are an ongoing barrier to people’s social and economic mobility.' This month, MPs on the Commons transport committee launched an inquiry into the role a lack of mobility is having on young people’s career prospects. It comes after the number of so-called NEETs – those not in education, employment or training – aged 16 to 24 soared to over 1million this year, the highest since 2013. Mr Milburn’s report warned that one in six young people could become NEETs within the next five years, up from one in eight now. The reason driving test backlogs have increased is mixed, according to a National Audit Office (NAO) report into the issue in December last year. It said there was a backlog of 1.1million tests that were not carried out in the 2020-21 financial year because of the Covid-19 pandemic and that around 360,000 of these had still not been booked. It also cited a lack of examiners and found many were leaving ‘due to uncompetitive pay and safety concerns’. Despite running 19 recruitment campaigns since 2021, the DVSA has only hired 83 extra examiners, far short of its 400 target. Former health secretary Alan Milburn’s report identified lack of access to a car as a major barrier for many young people getting into work or training  A National Audit Office report said a lack of examiners was one reason for practical test backlogs, which have hit around 22 weeks   There are currently 1,500 or so qualified examiners across 321 test centres. The NAO's inquiry found delays have led to people paying unofficial websites to secure tests, some of whom were ‘paying significantly inflated prices of up to £500’ - nearly eight times the official DVSA fee of £62 for a weekday slot. It said the DVSA struggled to ‘understand the real demand for tests’ because third party websites quickly book available slots using automated programmes known as bots. ‘These delays can have a serious impact on learner drivers’ income and the economy, with 30% of respondents to a DVSA survey saying they need to be able to drive for their jobs,’ the watchdog said in its report. It noted that waits had hit 24 weeks – the maximum allowed – at 70 per cent of test centres towards the end of last year. When Labour launched its pledge to reduce waiting times to seven weeks in 2024, then roads minister Lilian Greenwood said: ‘Passing your driving test is a life changing opportunity for millions – but sky-high waiting times for tests in recent years have denied that opportunity to too many people. ‘No one should have to wait 6 months when they’re ready to pass, travel to the other side of the country to take a driving test or be ripped off by unscrupulous websites just because they can’t afford to wait.’ The Department for Transport was contacted for comment.