Labour accused of fuelling youth unemployment crisis after quietly scrapping key target for tackling practical driving test backlog, leaving Andy Burnham red-faced ahead of joblessness announcement
The UK government has been accused of contributing to the youth unemployment crisis after quietly dropping a target aimed at clearing the backlog of practical driving tests, according to reports. The move is politically awkward for Andy Burnham, coming just ahead of a wider announcement on joblessness, and critics say it undermines efforts to help young people get into work, since a driving test backlog can delay newly qualified drivers from taking jobs that require them to drive.
The full detail of the scrapped target and the reasoning behind its removal was not available in the source material provided, beyond the headline claim that it had been dropped "quietly". The story sits alongside other recent criticism of Burnham, including separate accusations over a proposed social care funding measure and reported unease within Labour's own ranks over a crackdown on youth benefits.
- Labour accused of scrapping driving test backlog target
- Critics say this worsens youth unemployment
- Timing is awkward for Andy Burnham's joblessness announcement
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Critics reasonably argue that a clear, published target existed for a reason: long waits for practical driving tests genuinely block young people from taking jobs that require a licence, particularly in rural areas or trades like delivery driving, care work and construction. Quietly dropping the seven-week goal, rather than explaining why it proved unachievable, looks like an attempt to avoid accountability just as the government prepares to make announcements on joblessness, and undermines trust that ministers will follow through on pledges meant to help young people into work.
The case against
A reasonable defender of the government would say that test-centre capacity, examiner recruitment and post-pandemic backlogs are structural problems that cannot be fixed to a fixed timetable simply by decree, and that abandoning an unrealistic target is more honest than clinging to one purely for presentational purposes. They might also argue that youth unemployment has many drivers beyond driving-test waits, and that resources are better focused on flexible, achievable improvements to testing capacity rather than being tied to a politically convenient but potentially unworkable deadline.