Goods Vehicles (Testing, Drivers’ Hours and Tachographs etc.) (Amendment) Regulations 2026

Baroness Blake of Leeds Excerpts

Monday 9th March 2026 Grand Committee

Moved by

[Baroness Blake of Leeds]

That the Grand Committee do consider the Goods Vehicles (Testing, Drivers’ Hours and Tachographs etc.) (Amendment) Regulations 2026.

Relevant document: 51st Report from the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee (special attention drawn to the instrument)

[Baroness in Waiting/Government Whip (Baroness Blake of Leeds) (Lab)]

My Lords, the provisions of these draft regulations relating to roadworthiness testing are to be made under the powers conferred by Sections 41(1), 41(2), 41(5), 45(1), 45(2), 45(7), 46(7), 47(5), 49(1), 49(2) and 51(1) of the Road Traffic Act 1988. The measures concerning drivers’ hours and tachographs are to be made under the powers provided by Section 14(3) of the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023.

These regulations will amend roadworthiness testing, drivers’ hours and tachograph rules for zero-emission vans weighing over 3.5 tonnes, up to and including 4.25 tonnes, which I will hereafter refer to as 3.5 to 4.25 tonne zero-emission vans. The regulations will align the regulation of these vehicles with the regulation of internal combustion engine vans weighing over 3 tonnes, up to and including 3.5 tonnes, by making three key changes.

First, they will move 3.5 to 4.25 tonne zero‑emission vans from the heavy vehicle testing regime into the class 7 MoT testing system. Secondly, they will amend the timing of the first roadworthiness test by changing it from a first test one year after initial registration, with annual testing thereafter, to a first test three years after initial registration, with subsequent annual testing. Thirdly, they will move 3.5 to 4.25 tonne zero-emission vans from the assimilated drivers’ hours rules into the Great Britain drivers’ hours rules. Unlike the assimilated drivers’ hours rules, the GB drivers’ hours rules do not require the use of tachographs to record driving time, meaning that tachographs will not be required to be installed in 3.5 to 4.25 tonne zero-emission vans.

Domestic transport is the highest greenhouse gas-emitting sector of the economy, accounting for 30% of emissions in 2024. Road freight acts as a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, and the number of vans on the road has consistently increased over recent years. Van traffic in 2024 was 9.5% higher than in 2019. Removing additional regulatory burdens will support van operators in switching from internal combustion engine vans to zero-emission alternatives. This will help reduce transport emissions and the move towards net-zero transport.

I note that 3.5 to 4.25 tonne zero-emission vans are technically classified as heavy goods vehicles because they have a maximum authorised mass of over 3.5 tonnes. However, they are used for broadly the same purposes as internal combustion engine vans under 3.5 tonnes and in many cases are visually indistinguishable from them. By aligning the regulatory requirements of 3.5 to 4.25 tonne zero-emission vans, with up to 3.5 tonne internal combustion engine equivalents, these regulations are expected to drive the uptake of zero-emissions options and support reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from the growing van fleet.

These regulations are part of a wider suite of government action to drive the switch to zero-emission vehicles. This includes the zero-emission vehicle mandate, which sets sales targets for manufacturers applying to both cars and vans, with a headline target for vans in 2026 of 24%, on a pathway to 100% by 2035. Greater flexibilities were added to the mandate in October 2025 to support manufacturers in reaching these targets.

The Government are supporting the uptake of zero-emission vans via the plug-in van grant, which offers a maximum discount of £5,000 for vans weighing up to 4.25 tonnes, and through grant funding for charge points. In addition, in June 2025, regulations were introduced allowing the holders of a category B driving licence to drive zero-emission vans up to 4.25 tonnes without any additional training. The same regulations also provided the equivalent towing allowances for 4.25 tonne zero-emission vans as is available to their internal combustion engine counterparts.

These amending regulations will therefore provide additional regulatory consistency for operators switching to using a 3.5 to 4.25 tonne zero-emission van. At present, these vans are required to undergo a heavy vehicle test every year from first registration. These tests are carried out by staff from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency at authorised testing facilities. These regulations will mean that 3.5 to 4.25 tonne zero-emission vans are tested via the class 7 MoT test, which is currently used to test 3 to 3.5 tonne vans, with a first test three years from registration. The private sector class 7 MoT testing network is larger than the network of authorised testing facilities, providing greater choice for van operators. Combined with a later first test and a lower test cost, this will reduce the administrative burden on operators choosing to make the switch to a zero-emission van.

Moving 3.5 to 4.25 tonne zero-emission vans from the assimilated drivers’ hours rules into the GB rules will also provide regulatory consistency for van operators, as internal combustion engine vans weighing under 3.5 tonnes are already in scope of the GB rules. The GB rules do not require the use of tachographs to monitor driving time, removing an additional cost currently experienced by zero-emission van operators. The extra administrative burden for fleets, where drivers regularly switch between different types of vans and therefore different sets of drivers’ hours rules, is also removed by these regulations.

Both the roadworthiness testing regime and the drivers’ hours rules are in place to support road safety, and this has been an area of focus during the development of these regulations. Class 7 MoT testing is already used for vans with similar dimensions to 3.5 to 4.25 tonne zero-emission vans. While they are heavier, these vans may come with features such as regenerative braking that can support safer driving.

The daily driving limit under the GB drivers’ hours rules is only one hour longer than the limit under the assimilated rules, and the daily duty limit of 11 hours will restrict drivers from working long hours on other non-driving tasks. Following the implementation of these regulations, road safety data will be closely monitored. Both the number of collisions and their severity will be analysed to understand the impact on road safety, if any, of these regulations.

--- Later in debate ---

[Lord Moylan (Con)]

My Lords, I was just coming to the point of saying that—as the noble Lord, Lord Pack, pointed out—we are now seeing personal safety and road safety being sacrificed on the altar of net zero. It is undoubtedly the case that heavier vehicles have a greater impact when an accident takes place. I am not claiming, nor did the noble Lord claim, that they are more likely to have an accident but they will certainly have a greater impact. This is exactly the same physics that lies behind the argument that speed limits in city areas should be cut. The impact is a function of the speed times the mass. If you increase the mass, you are putting back—so to speak—what you have gained by reducing speed limits in cities. That is what the Government are doing. They are playing recklessly with personal safety on the road, including that of vulnerable users in particular, such as pedestrians and bicyclists, as well as those driving other motor vehicles.

There is a further point that was not mentioned by the noble Lord, Lord Pack: the effect on the roads themselves. The roads in this country in many places are breaking up. It is not simply a matter of potholes now but of another complete dereliction by the department. In many cases, the base of the road is being damaged because maintenance is being neglected. It is no good the Government saying they put a certain amount of money into it—which is what they always say when this point is brought up—because it is not having an effect on the roads. The roads are breaking up. A lack of maintenance means that the effect is not simply on the surface—the potholes—but on the base. Very often you can see that on many rural roads, which are breaking up, and a huge bill is being stored. Part of that is to do with heavier vehicles.

Some of those heavier vehicles—all the heavy SUVs and so on—are heavier for reasons that I do not personally approve of. Another reason is that we are actively encouraging heavier vehicles, and doing so through measures such as this one. We did it through the amendments to the driving licence provisions, which we dealt with late last year. Now we are doing it in relation to the testing regime and the drivers’ hours rules for vans. The Government are driving forward, and they are very much driven by net zero, with no regard for the consequences for personal safety and road surfaces—and now, of course, we need to add the bridges.

I say on a personal note that, years ago, I used to have some responsibility for Albert Bridge as a local councillor, and I see that it is now closed. At that time, we spent quite a lot of money bringing Albert Bridge up to a standard where it could bear and be safe for 3-tonne vehicles—that would be the weight limit. Now that 3-tonne limit is almost of historical interest, so another bridge across the river in London is being taken out of use. What is the Government’s plan for this? There is no plan for any of this. They have not thought about any of these things; they just drive ahead recklessly with net zero.

Although this measure appears to have a purely technical character, it is very significant in a number of respects that I have set out in my speech. The Government need to start taking these things seriously, because otherwise they will be abandoning their transport-related duties. That is something we will constantly highlight and oppose.

[Baroness Blake of Leeds (Lab)]

My Lords, I thank the noble Lords, Lord Pack and Lord Moylan, for their comments on this important area of work. Some of the points raised have come together from both noble Lords, if from slightly different angles, so perhaps they will forgive me if I cover them together.

One of the major themes coming through was the concern about the devolved Administrations and divergence. Just to reiterate, the regulations apply in Great Britain only; to reinforce that, this policy area is devolved to Northern Ireland and the officials in the Department for Infrastructure there have been updated on the regulations. I want to reassure noble Lords that the department in Northern Ireland is currently considering the potential impact the introduction of this legislation may have on regulatory divergence between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It is considering the impact of proposals that have been presented by the European Commission on drivers’ hours and tachograph requirements, which mirror the changes in these regulations—I think the noble Lord, Lord Moylan, picked up on some of the details around this.

I can only repeat that decisions on changes in Northern Ireland will be for Northern Ireland Ministers. While officials in the DfT and Northern Ireland’s Department for Infrastructure are working together to manage the impact of these measures on GB operators for the change in vans that regularly travel to Northern Ireland, we want to minimise the impact on trade between Northern Ireland and Great Britain.

In the meantime, drivers of 3.5 to 4.25 tonne zero-emission vans will need to ensure that their vehicle complies with the applicable law while operating in Northern Ireland, including ensuring that they are meeting testing requirements and that their vehicle is fitted with a tachograph. For further reassurance, I can inform noble Lords that the noble Baroness, Lady Anderson, speaks regularly to her counterpart in Northern Ireland to make sure that they are kept appraised of progress.

[Lord Moylan (Con)]

My Lords, is the noble Baroness able to answer my specific question? What contacts took place between her Government and the authorities in Northern Ireland, prior to the tabling of this secondary legislation, with a view to ensuring that the legislative gap did not exist—in other words, that they could proceed in harmony?

[Baroness Blake of Leeds (Lab)]

I think the noble Lord will understand that I cannot be specific at this point about the exact detail. I am happy to write to him to make sure that he is fully apprised of the contact between the two areas.

On the road safety theme that has been picked up, I reassure noble Lords that there is no data to suggest that there is likely to be an increase in the collision rate following the introduction of these regulations. In fact, some van operators have indicated that they experience a lower collision rate with their 3.5 to 4.25 tonne zero-emission van fleet compared with the equivalent diesel vans. This may be due to features such as the regenerative braking that I mentioned earlier, whereby braking energy is captured and can be reused, reducing wear on brakes. It is also important to note that, although heavier, in most cases these vans are the same physical size as the diesel vans they replace.