A major deal expected to be awarded next summer will also incorporate the possibility of using additional cloud platforms, as well as supporting the planned delivery of digital driving licences
The new £700m-plus deals to be awarded by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency for the delivery of the driving theory test will include provisions for “exploring remote testing [or] proctoring technology in the delivery” of the process.
The DVSA has this week launched a procurement process intended to appoint a trio of suppliers to respectively run the driving theory test centre network (TCN) in each of the agency’s three defined regions of the UK: Scotland, Northern Ireland, the north east and north west of England, Yorkshire and the Humber; Wales, the West Midlands, and the south east and south west of England; and London, the East Midlands, and the East of England.
According to a newly published contract notice, for each of these areas, the supplier will be required to comply with the DVSA’s ‘40/40’ requirement – which stipulates that everyone in an towns and cities must be no further than 40 minutes’ travel from a centre, while those in rural areas should be within 40 miles.
Tools to support and interact with government’s online test-booking system will be a key component of the services provided by the chosen suppliers – as will the tech installed at the test facilities.
“[Each] TCN supplier will be responsible for providing a responsive scheduling system offering a real-time, six month forward view of test availability to the authority’s booking systems, reflecting test duration, demand and test type requirements,” the notice says. “The service includes: delivery of on-site invigilation to maintain test integrity; detection and deterrence of fraud; and support for incident reporting and investigative activity integrating with authority systems. The TCN supplier must provide all necessary infrastructure and technology within each test centre, including secure hardware and software, on-premises server capability, resilient network connectivity, CCTV, and sufficient equipment to deliver all standard and non-standard test adjustments for candidates with additional needs.”
As well as operating these existing services, the DVSA instructs potential bidders that it “has identified several potential future developments that may be explored” over the course of an initial seven-year contract, due to come into effect in September 2028.
This may include – for the first time – an option for citizens to sit the test from home. This is not currently offered due to the increased risk of cheating or fraud.
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But, in the coming years, the notice states that the chosen providers may be tasked with helping the DVSA in “exploring remote testing/proctoring technology in the delivery of the service”; proctoring refers to the supervision of a formal test or an exam by an onsite human invigilator – or, increasingly, via remote video monitoring or even artificial intelligence tools.
The contracts with the suppliers will also make provision for “exploring the use of end‑to‑end cloud architecture in the delivery of the service”, the document adds, as well as the possible of “adding wider government tests” or “other authority or Department for Transport tests into service delivery”.
It is also possible that the engagement will be used for “enhanced identification checking” and “enabling validation of digital driving licences” – which were due to be launched by the end of 2025.
Following on from the tender notice, the DVSA will hold an online supplier engagement event next week. Firms will then have until midday on 5 May to submit an initial qualification questionnaire, after assessing which the government agency will determine which prospective providers are to be invited to take part in further “dialogue” and then, subsequently, to make an initial tender submission over the summer.
Around the end of this year, the DVSA will invite select suppliers to submit a final tender by the end of February 2027 – before awarding contracts in about 16 months’ time. This will then be followed by a “service-implementation” period of a little over a year before, finally, the service-delivery engagements come into effect in September 2028.
These agreements will run until 2035, with a potential extension of two further years.
The total cumulative value of these contracts is estimated at £735m, inclusive of VAT.
This will be comprised of a £235m deal for Scotland, Northern Ireland and the north of England, a £285m arrangement covering Wales and western England, and a £215m partnership to serve London and the east.
