Driving lessons and tests to restart in Wales from April 12, DVSA confirms
Driving lessons and tests can resume in Wales this month, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has confirmed.
Lockdown restrictions meant both were paused just before Christmas, when the country went into its third national lockdown.
On Tuesday, the DVSA posted on social media that lessons will restart on April 12, and tests on April 22, in both England and Wales.
The agency tweeted that from Monday, driving lessons with instructors, all theory tests, motorcycle tests, lorry lessons and tests, car and trailer tests and minibus lessons and tests can resume.
From that same date in Wales, all businesses providing close-contact services - like beauty salons - are allowed to reopen and all non-essential retailers can open their doors too. The ban preventing people leaving or entering Wales without a reasonable excuse is also due to be lifted on April 12.
Robert Cowell, interim managing director of the AA Driving School, welcomed the confirmation of resumption of driving lessons and tests.
Mr Cowell said the organisation had had 26,371 online requests between December and mid-March from people wanting to be notified when lessons were allowed again.
He said: "After months of uncertainty this is truly welcome news for driving instructors and pupils around the country.
"More than 26,000 prospective pupils contacted us during the latest lockdown, so demand is going to skyrocket now instructors can open their books again.
"Those who started learning to drive before lockdown will now tackle the additional challenge of starting back after the long break.
"Our driving instructors are ready to help them overcome the additional challenges they have faced being a lockdown learner and we are confident many will be on the road to success very soon."
The news comes after data analysed by the PA news agency showed that driving licence numbers among young people had fallen to the lowest level since current records began.
Just 2.97 million people in Britain aged between 16-25 hold a full licence, according to Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) records.
That is down from 3.32 million in March 2020 and is the smallest total in records dating back to November 2012 when there were 3.42 million.
The decline is sharper than the fall in the number of young people in Britain's population over the same time period.