Number of suspected or actual impersonators who sat theory or practical driving tests 2011 to 2012
Published 21 August 2013
Applies to England, Scotland and Wales
© Crown copyright 2013
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This is Freedom of Information request IA/0022513.
1. Request
For the period 2011/ 2012, could you please confirm the number suspected or actual impersonators who sat theory or practical vehicle driving tests and their nationalities?
2. Response
For the 2011/12 financial year, DSA have 688 records of suspected or actual impersonators who sat a theory driving test and 105 suspected or actual impersonators who sat a practical vehicle driving test.
The nationality of those involved in these cases is not recorded in a central location and to establish if it is held and to compile it would require a manual search through all 793 case files. This information is exempt from release under section 12 (1) (cost of compliance exceeds appropriate limit) of the FoIA. A copy of this exemption is attached at Annex A.
The appropriate limit, as prescribed by the Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004, is £600 for Central Government and £450 for other public authorities, with staff costs calculated at a rate of £25 per hour. When calculating whether the appropriate limit is exceeded, authorities can take account of the costs of determining whether the information is held, locating and retrieving the information, and extracting the information from other documents. They cannot take account of the costs involved with considering whether information is exempt under the Act.
It has been estimated that it would take 15 minutes to check each case file. To check all 793 records would take in excess of 198 hours, which would exceed the 24 working hour limit prescribed.
Driving test fraud is a serious offence that puts law abiding road users at risk. The Driving Standards Agency (DSA) takes all allegations of driving test fraud extremely seriously and works with the police to bring offenders to justice.
Thankfully this remains a relatively rare crime in comparison with the 3 million theory and practical driving tests conducted every year.