Information about the number of pink and green licence holders on the DSA register
Published 19 May 2014
Applies to England, Scotland and Wales
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This is Freedom of Information request IA/00393/13.
1. Request
How many (ADI) Green licence holders do you currently have on the DSA register?
2. Response
We publish statistics on the number of ADIs on the register on our website at ADIs on register. This information is exempt under section 21 (information accessible by other means) of the FoIA and a copy of this exemption is attached at Annex A.
3. Request
How many (PDI) Pink licence holders do you currently have on the DSA register?
4. Response
Our records show that as of 24 July there were 2,114 PDIs on the DSA register.
5. Request
How many ADIs are currently active? Please supply for ADIs and PDIs separately for those who have presented a pupil in the last 3 financial years and those who have not provided a pupil in the last financial year for Q3 and 4.
How many PDIs are currently active?
6. Response
Our records show that for the financial year 2012/13 there were 41,165 ADIs and PDIs on the register that presented pupils for test.
We do not hold a central record of how many of these individuals are ADIs or PDIs. It is estimated that to provide this information would involve manually checking 41,165 records and would take in excess of 24 hours to extract the information. 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.
7. Request
How many second pink licences were issued in each of the last 3 financial years?
8. Response
The table below shows the number of second pink licences that have been issued in the last 3 financial years.
| Year | Number of pink licences issued |
|---|---|
| 2010/11 | 1,158 |
| 2011/12 | 555 |
| 2012/13 | 285 |
In 2011/12 DSA began enforcing a stricter policy whereby second or subsequent licences are only issued in exceptional circumstances when the trainee licence holder has not been able to make full use of their trainee licence, for example due to a long period of illness. The information on GOV.UK advises PDIs to return their trainee licence to DSA if they are not able to make full use of it. They should provide evidence of the reason. The Registrar will take into account the fact that they have returned their licence for this reason when considering any application for a subsequent licence.
9. Request
How many third pink licences were issued in each of the last 3 financial years? How many fourth pink licences were issued in each of the last 3 financial years?
10. Response
We do not hold a central record of how many third or forth pink licences have been issued to individuals. It is estimated that to provide this information would involve manually checking approximately 41,165 records and would take in excess of 24 hours to extract the information. 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.
11. Request
What reasons would the Agency find acceptable to allow for issuing a second, third or fourth pink licence?
12. Response
Second or subsequent licences are only issued in exceptional circumstances when the trainee licence holder has not been able to make full use of their trainee licence, for example due to a long period of illness. The information on GOV.UK advises PDIs to return their trainee licence to DSA if they are not able to make full use of it. They should provide evidence of the reason. The Registrar will take into account the fact that they have returned their licence for this reason when considering any application for a subsequent licence.
13. Request
What reasons would the Agency find acceptable for allowing an extension to the two year qualification period to pass the ADI Part 2 and Part 3 tests?
14. Response
Regulation 3 (4) (c ) of The Motor Cars (Driving Instruction) Regulations 2005 as amended requires a PDI to submit their application for their final qualifying test (the instructional ability and fitness test, or Part 3) “within 2 years after passing the written examination and having passed all of the elements of the driving ability and fitness test”. As long as the candidate has applied for their test within 2 years of passing the written examination, they may therefore sit their test after the two year period has expired. In very exceptional circumstances, for example serious illness or cancellation of the final booking by DSA, the Registrar may also, at his discretion, allow a further appointment outside of the 2 year window.