Scots driving test centres under threat 04 | 02 | 2011

DRIVING TEST centres in Scotland could well be a thing of the past. According to leaked documents, the Driving Standards Agency is looking at plans to close down test centres and use private firms as "delegated examiners".

The new plans — which follow moves by the Government to study ways of providing driving tests more efficiently at a lower cost and whether they could be undertaken by other organisations inside or outside of the public sector — could see examiners based at supermarkets and community centres.

The leaked documents have been seen by the Public and Commercial Services union which says they show the DSA is exploring several options to lower its costs.

"These new documents shed more light on the plans being hatched behind closed doors by senior managers and ministers," DSA general secretary Mark Serwotka said. "Worryingly, it is the latest evidence of the creeping privatisation of the agency's work, which puts ideology before road safety."

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Jim McGill