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Londra Gazete, 02 June 2022 LondraGazete.com/English 5

Driving test backlog sees exams Brits get ready to celebrate the

sold for over £200 Queen’s platinum jubilee

DRIVING tests are being bulk October.
booked and resold for profit, as a It has seen many learners turn THE Queen is marking her 70th
chronic backlog means learners are towards a secondary market. Some year on the throne on Sunday 5 June,
otherwise waiting months for a test are paying a nominal fee to compa- making her the first British monarch
date. nies which find them cancelled tests. to reach such a milestone.
Learner drivers say they have paid Others are buying from sellers which Over her decades-long reign,
more than £200 for a practical test - offer tests for vastly inflated prices. Queen Elizabeth II has celebrated
more than twice the standard fee. The DVSA said it would continue her Silver, Gold and Diamond Ju-
One operator said it used automat- to do all it could to provide as many bilees in spectacular fashion, with
ed software to book tests, however tests as possible, including conduct- plenty of events, pageants and tours
to celebrate.
according to BBC they have seen ‘ev- ing out-of-hours testing and recruit- This year, Platinum Jubilee celebra-
idence encouraging driving instruc- ing more examiners. tions are expected to be spectacular,
tors to sell tests for profit.’ In a statement, a spokesman add- involving numerous events and par-
The DVSA urged applicants to only ed: "We urge applicants not to use ties throughout the country to hon-
book tests via its official website. any third-party cancellation check- our the Queen’s service.
The demand for driving tests, ing services and to always go through More than 16,000 street parties
caused by the pandemic, means in the official DVSA website. are set to take place across England.
many places - including London, Bir- "We've already put in place meas- On Thursday(June 2) the celebra-
mingham and Cardiff - tests aren't ures to monitor and prevent bots tion will kick off with the Queen’s
available to book online for up to from accessing our systems, while Birthday Parade, the Parade will close dral. the ‘Big Lunch’ which will be tak-
ing place with thousands of people
six months. At other centres, the also strengthening our firewall to with the traditional RAF fly-past, While on Saturday (June 4) mem- across the UK are set celebrate with
watched by the Queen and members
earliest availability is September or tackle the issue." of the Royal Family from the Buck- bers of the Royal Family will attend their family, friends and community.
the Derby at Epsom Downs. Then
ingham Palace balcony. Over 1,500 in the evening 22,000 people will be Rounding of the event back at the
beacons will also be lit throughout attending the Platinum Party at the mall the Platinum Jubilee Pageant
the United Kingdom, Channel Is- with some 10,000 people taking part
lands, Isle of Man and UK Overseas Palace for performances by artists in the pageant, which is set to bring
Territories. such as Diana Ross, Sir Elton John, to life iconic moments from The
On Friday (June 3) morning a Ser- Craig David, Andrea Bocelli and Queen’s reign as well as showcasing
vice of Thanksgiving for The Queen’s many more. our changing society over the past 70
reign will be held at St Paul’s Cathe- On the final day of the celebrations years.

Housing market set to slow as the year

progresses, says Nationwide

HOUSE prices were 11.2% high- (54%) are considering enhancing (37%) citing this as a motivating
er in May than a year earlier, al- their home. factor.
Police received more than 14,000 though the annual pace of growth those looking to make improve- surveyed wanted to improve en-
“The most popular option for
“Interestingly, 29% of those
is slowing, according to an index.
Across the UK, the average
public complaints in a year property value in April had been ments was to add or maximise ergy efficiency or reduce the car-
space, with more than a third bon footprint of their home...”
12.1% higher annually.
POLICE received more than A small number of allegations Prices also increased by 0.9%
14,000 complaints from the pub- (2 per cent) were discontinued month on month in May, tak-
lic about officers in the space of a where an investigation into a re- ing the average house price to
£269,914, Nationwide Building
year – but only 1 per cent led to cordable conduct matter was sus- Society said.
proceedings. pended. Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s
Official figures released by the For conduct matters against chief economist, said: “Demand
Home Office show police forces police staff, in 37 per cent of the is being supported by strong la-
in England and Wales received a allegations there was no case to bour market conditions, where
total of 14,393 public complaints answer and in 59 per cent of al- the unemployment rate has fallen
against officers in the year to 31 legations there was a case to an- towards 50-year lows, and with
March 2021. swer. the number of job vacancies at a
No action was taken against Four per cent of allegations record high.
police officers in 92 per cent of were discontinued and in a “At the same time, the stock
these cases, while only 1 per cent small number the result was not of homes on the market has re-
were referred to proceedings. mained low, keeping upward pres-
The annual statistics also re- known. sure on house prices.
veal there were 3,584 conduct A further 940 allegations were “We continue to expect the
allegations raised against police made against police officers in- housing market to slow as the
year progresses.
officers and 1,196 allegations volving recordable conduct mat- “Household finances are likely
against police staff in the same ters – which must be referred to to remain under pressure, with
period. the Independent Office for Police inflation set to reach double dig-
For conduct matters against Conduct (IOPC). its in the coming quarters if glob-
police officers, about half of alle- Of the allegations involved al energy prices remain high.”
gations (49 per cent) resulted in in recordable conduct matters He said: “Our recent housing
no case to answer, and the other against police officers, 33 per market survey revealed that, as
half (49 per cent) resulted in a cent were referred to proceed- well as more people looking to
case to answer. ings. move, over half of those surveyed