Annex A - IA/00009/12 - Number of car practical tests cancelled within three day cancellation period (fee refunds)

Sep 18, 2026

Uploaded by McQueen

Annex A IA/00009/12 explains how the Driving Standards Agency accounts for car practical tests cancelled within a three-day cancellation period over 2009–2011, including the resulting fee refunds. The document states the information is not centrally recorded and would require manual review of each cancelled candidate’s record on the testing and registration system (TARS). It cites an exemption under section 12(1) of the FoIA and provides counts split into customer and DSA cancellations, plus waiver log refund figures for specified periods.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages3

Reading Time8 min

AccessFree to download

Annex A IA/00009/12

Cancellation period counts (2009–2011)

What DSA and customer cancellations include/exclude

Time estimate and FoIA exemption limit

Waiver log fee refund figures (1 Apr 2009–31 Dec 2011)

Annex A our ref : IA/00009/12 The number of practical car tests per year that were cancelled within a three day cancellation period resulting in a fee refund to the candidate over the last 3 years We do hold information on the number of car practical tests that were cancelled within the three day cancellation period. This information is, however, not held in a central record. To compile this information would involve us manually reviewing the record of each car practical test candidate whose test was cancelled within the three day cancellation period during 2009, 2010 and 2011 on our testing and registration system (TARS) . Only on review would we be able to confirm if the cancellation resulted in a fee refund. This information is exempt from release under section 12 (1) (cost of compliance exceeds appropriate limit) of the FoIA. A full breakdown of this exemption can be found at Annex B. 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. In the table below, you can find the number of car practical tests that were cancelled in 2009, 2010 and 2011 within the three day cancellation period. This information is split into customer and DSA cancellations. | Year | Number of car practical tests cancelled within the three day cancellation period by the customer | Number of car practical tests cancelled within the three day cancellation period by DSA | | --- | --- | --- | | 2009 | 72,112 | 33,397 | | 2010 | 71,574 | 40,879 | | 2011 | 70,877 | 16,558 | Please note that: 􀁸 all DSA cancellations would have been rebooked for no additional charge but then may have been subsequently refunded if the candidate choose not to take another car practical test. 􀁸 DSA cancellations don’t include tests that have been cancelled and rebooked on the same day nor does it include tests which were cancelled for bad weather, dishonoured payment, bad light, failed or delayed entitlement check or foot and mouth disease. We have estimated that it would take five minutes to review one candidate’s record on TARS to determine whether they were issued with a test fee refund for a car practical test that was cancelled within the three day cancellation period. Therefore to check the record of all 305,397 candidates, whose car practical test was cancelled within three clear working days by DSA or by the customer, would take longer than 25,449 hours, which would exceed the 24 working hour limit prescribed. Although we are unable to provide you with the exact information you have requested, our corporate correspondence team do hold information from 1 April 2009 to 31 December 2011 in their waiver log on test fee refunds issued to candidates. In the table below, you can find the number of car practical test refunds issued to candidates from 1 April 2009 to 31 December 2011 broken down by each calendar year. | Period | Number of car practical test refunds issued to candidates | | --- | --- | | 1 April 2009 to 31 December 2009 | 1,726 | | 1 January 2010 to 31 December 2010 | 1,943 | | 1 January 2011 to 31 December 2011 | 1,055 | Please note that the information in the above table is: 􀁸 based on the date in which a request was received for a test fee refund, not the date of the test 􀁸 for all refunds issued to car practical test candidates whose test may or may not have been cancelled within the three clear working day cancellation period In addition to the information in the above table,

FAQs

Why can’t the information on fee refunds be compiled centrally?

The document states that cancelled tests resulting in fee refunds are not held in a central record and would require manual review of each candidate’s record on TARS.

What are the annual counts of car practical tests cancelled within the three-day cancellation period (2009–2011)?

For customer cancellations: 2009 = 72,112, 2010 = 71,574, 2011 = 70,877. For DSA cancellations: 2009 = 33,397, 2010 = 40,879, 2011 = 16,558.

What conditions are excluded from DSA cancellations?

DSA cancellations do not include tests cancelled and rebooked on the same day, nor tests cancelled for bad weather, dishonoured payment, bad light, failed or delayed entitlement checks, or foot and mouth disease.

Sep 18, 2026

Uploaded by McQueen