To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the suitability of locations required for multi-purpose testing sites for motorcycles; and whether he has made an assessment of whether a minimum and maximum distance is required between these sites. (248578)

[holding answer 19 January 2009]: Following an extensive public consultation exercise on the implementation of the new motorcycle test, the Driving Standards Agency (DSA) recognised that a network of multi-purpose test centres (MPTCs) would be needed to deliver the new motorcycle test.

The criterion used for establishing this network was that most motorcycle candidates should have to travel no more than 20 miles or 45 minutes to a MPTC. While not every candidate would be able to reach a test centre within this time/distance criterion, DSA had to strike a balance between convenience for candidates and the efficient provision of testing services.

A key factor in deciding on search areas was the need to identify sites which would give the best geographical coverage for most test candidates and where MPTCs would be used efficiently based on demand for tests in those localities. It follows that those areas with a high population density were the main search locations.