Learner drivers will now need professional tuition, which could cost families thousands

Learners will have to follow a strict new L-test syllabus including a series of key skills which friends and family - on their own - will be unable to teach.

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Professional driving instructors will be required to sign-off learners once they have mastered key skills set out in a new beefed up driving test.

It means families face having to shell out thousands of pounds to be certain of a pass for their children who will learn a series of 'competences'. But ministers will argue that this will be a saving overall because more people will pass first time.

Parents will not be barred from teaching their children to drive - and will in fact be actively encouraged to do so. But learners will not be able to pass their test without a high degree of professional tuition in key safety-critical skills.

But ministers will insist that the new system will be a more efficient use of people's cash. They will argue that most people already pay as much for professional lessons - but that the pass rate is abysmally poorer. The new system aims to ensure that most people pass first time.

There will also be a shake-up of the theory test and of the standards of professional driving instructors.

Ministers are sensitive to accusations that compulsory tuition from professionals will penalise poorer families - and will seek to defuse this by insisting that there will be a more 'efficient' use of time and money.

With lessons currently costing up to £25 an hour and learners spending around £1,400 to pass their tests, critics fear the cost of learning to drive will soar and a risk adding to the 'underclass' of rogue drivers. Candidates currently spend 100 hours before taking their tests.

The massive shake-up of the L-test aims to cut the carnage of young drivers on Britain's roads.

Qualified Government approved instructors will have to sign-off key skills in a log-book as the learner masters them - and before they can take their final test.

The changes, to be outlined by Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly, could see the age for holding a full licence effectively rising from 17 to 18. Schools and education are also likely to have a role in promoting L-test safety in a bid to reduce casualty rates.

Under the L-Test revamp, candidates will have to master key skills of the current driving test - including parallel parking, reversing around a corner and the three-point turn - before they are allowed to take a new practical L-test, which they must pass to secure their full licence.

These elements will be removed from the current practical driving test and be assessed separately over time in modules. Each mastered skill will be 'signed off' in a special drivers' log book by qualified instructors. The actual driving-test with an examiner will concentrate on more 'safety critical' issues such as dealing with junctions, roundabouts and moving traffic.

L-plate candidates will be given greater experience of high speed roads - such as dual carriageways - before being allowed to qualify for a full licence. More 'real-world' driving lessons, such as turning right at busy junctions, using rural roads, and navigating bends on high-speed roads.

Robert Gifford of the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety (MUST credit) said:'The Government has launched consultations in 1992, 2002 and now another in 2008 It's time we got beyond talk and got some action. Some 300 deaths a year are in cars involving people within two years of passing their test.'

:: A survey by the AA says three out of four people would back learner drivers completing 40 hours of compulsory tuition before taking their test. The survey of more than 17,000 AA members, in conjunction with research company Populus, showed 73% supported a compulsory 40 hours of tuition, but only 27% of 18-24 year-olds backed this.

The standard driving test charge rose by 16.5per cent to £56.50 on April 1 with the theory test increasing 5.3% to £30. Britons spend about £1,337 each learning to drive, with women spending £1,400, a U-Switch survey found. AA president Edmund King said: "Even if compulsory tuition is introduced there will still be an essential role for parents giving their teenage children vital practice in the car.

"We believe that more could be done in schools to develop a greater degree of understanding of the risks new drivers face on the roads and more to influence attitudes before they become entrenched."