Learner drivers across the UK are being warned they could have to wait until 2023 before there are available slots to book their tests.
With it having been widely reported as of late that the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is currently dealing with an ongoing backlog due to COVID-19 restrictions that prohibited all practical driving tests from taking place for months on end back in 2020, it has now been found that this backlog could take up most of the year before it’s cleared.
According to an investigation by The Telegraph, at least five cities in the UK – including Manchester – had no available test slots to book up until November, which is the limit placed on the booking window.
The publication’s analysis of the DVSA centralised test booking website at the weekend found that in London as an example, there were no slots available for at least 24 weeks, and it means that those wishing to take a test would need to travel to another nearby, but likely unfamiliar, city in order to find more availability.
Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, and Nottingham were identified as other cities facing similar issues snd circumstances.
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While acknowledging that some may have to wait until next year, the DVSA did however say that the average wait time for a test was 14 weeks, and it has committed in its recent business plan to bring average waiting times down to nine weeks by the end of the year.
Learner drivers across the UK are being warned that they could have to wait until 2023 to book a test / Credit: AA
It said it is trying to recruit an extra 300 examiners, and has also widened the hours that testing can take place to accommodate.
Some slots may also become available from cancellations or more instructors applying for jobs.
Edmund King, the president of the AA, told The Telegraph: “The backlog does not appear to be improving [and] it’s incredibly difficult for young people to plan their future as learning to drive is incredibly important to the start of adult life.
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“Unfortunately for young people that freedom, that rite of passage is being taken away from them.”
Under the current rules, learners can currently only book one test at a time – but the AA and Driving Instructor Association has warned that some people are booking tests using specialist websites that have an algorithm which is able to secure slots as soon as they become available, which is inevitably making the problem worse.
Manchester is among the five UK cities that have no available test slots to book up until November / Credit: Art Markiv (via Unsplash)
In response to The Telegraph’s investigation, Loveday Ryder – Chief Executive at the DVSA – said: “We are doing all we can to provide as many tests as possible so we can get our services back to normal [and] I know learners will be keen to take their test now, but it is important that they are properly prepared for their test and don’t take it before they are ready.
“With more than half of candidates failing, and demand currently extremely high for tests, learners should only take their test when they are confident they can pass as this will help them to avoid a lengthy wait for a retest.
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“And help us by not adding to the driving test waiting list.”
This Manchester hotel has a Bonfire Night ‘escape’ package for pets to help keep them calm
Emily Sergeant
One of Manchester’s most luxurious hotels is transforming into the ultimate pet refuge again over the firework season.
Bonfire Night is loved across the UK for the spectacular firework displays and all the festive-themed activities that go along with it, but the November annual event isn’t so fun for our four-legged friends, as fireworks can be frightening to pets due to loud bangs, flashing lights, and the unpleasant strong smell of spent explosives.
With multiple bangs occurring from numerous displays too, pets are rarely able to pinpoint where the booming explosions are coming from, only making it more terrifying for them.
This is why, after becoming a huge success following its launch last year, Kimpton Clocktower Hotel in the heart of the city centre has brought back its special ‘Bonfire Night Escape’ escape package, turning the already pet-friendly hotel into a firework-free sanctuary.
The hotel‘s year-round ‘PAWfect Stay’ package includes any dog staying at no extra cost, plus a pet tuckbox, a guide to the best dog-friendly places in the city, and a toy waiting for them in the room, but this fireworks season, pet owners will also get a luxury hamper including Pet Remedy’s ‘Party Season Survival Kit’
The kit comes together with a range of fast-acting products to help immediately in stressful situations such as fireworks, and includes calming spray, a plug diffuser, and some calming wipes too.
On top of that, dog owners can also take advantage of the hotel’s Music Concierge service, which allows guests to request a record player and vinyls to be placed in the room ahead of check in – with lots of classical and relaxing music records available to distract anxious pets from the noise of Bonfire Night celebrations.
Kimpton Clocktower Hotel has a Bonfire Night ‘escape’ package to help keep pets calm / Credit: Elisha Terada (via Unsplash)
The award-winning The Refuge Bar and Restaurant inside the hotel also offers a menu of carefully-curated dog treats throughout the week, as well as doggy Sunday roasts all Sunday.
David Lockhart, who is the General Manager at Kimpton Clocktower Hotel, said he likes to think of the hotel as a “home-away-from-home for our guests”.
“Our top priority is making sure everyone is feeling safe and comfortable,” he added. “We can’t wait to welcome our November guests and help them care for their four-legged family members, giving them everything they need.”
The Bonfire Night Escape package at Kimpton Clocktower Hotel is available to book from Friday 1 November, subject to availability, and you can request the package via the hotel concierge or by emailing [email protected] to book.
Scissor Sisters confirm reunion after more than a decade ahead of massive Manchester gig
Danny Jones
Still a firm cult favourite from the 2000s, Scissor Sisters are officially back and are bringing a special reunion tour to Manchester and the UK and Ireland at large.
The American outfit were one of the biggest and most well-known pop groups on this side of the Atlantic during their heyday, notching three BRIT Awards and two number-one albums.
Starting out in New York, like many bands in an oversaturated music market, they ended up proving to be much more popular here in Britain than they ever did in the US, not to mention becoming real icons among the LGBTQ+ community.
And now, over a decade later, the Scissor Sisters are set to repay the likes of Manchester, Leeds, London and more with a series of comeback shows, including one at Co-op Live arena – a gig which the venue has already teased earlier this week.
Confirming the reunion on social media on Thursday, 10 October, the band said: “Exciting news, for the first time in over a decade, we will come together again, live next May across the UK and Ireland.
“And for the first time ever, our debut album Scissor Sisters will be performed in full in celebration of its 20th anniversary – alongside all the other Scissor hits from along the way… See you very soon. Jake, Babydaddy, Del.”
Long-time fans were quick to notice that there was no mention of fellow founding member Ana Matronic nor former drummer Randy Real; the band themselves told BBC that the current lineup following their indefinite hiatus is by no means a way of replacing anyone but does give them a chance “to get some people on stage and ask some friends to do fun things.”
Frontman Shears’ 2023 Cabaret co-star, Rebecca Lucy Taylor, was also teased with a possible appearance on the Scissor Sisters reunion tour. Either way, they’ve promised a “little bit of chaos, anarchy” and an “‘anything can happen’ energy again.”
It’s been 12 whole years since we last saw them out on the road, so it’s only fitting that they give us a dozen UK/IE dates, starting at Nottingham’s Motorpoint Arena before bringing the comeback party down the home stretch in Dublin.
Scissor Sisters are set to stun the Manchester crowd with their Co-op Live debut on Wednesday, 21 May 2025, with special guest support from Alison Goldfrapp of the iconic electronic music duo, and we truly really can’t wait to roll back the years with them.
Pre-sale goes live on Wednesday, 6 November at 10am which you can access via their website and general admission tickets will be available from the same time the following Friday, 8 November.
We can’t wait to hear all the favourites – ‘Filthy/Gorgeous’, ‘I Don’t Feel Like Dancin”, ‘Take Your Mama’ and more – but, until then, the announcements coming out of Manchester’s biggest new music venue just don’t stop…
Emily Sergeant -
30th May 2022 
