Asked by: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat - Edinburgh West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent progress he has made on reaching a reciprocal arrangement for the recognition of driving licences with Italy.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Department for Transport has successfully agreed arrangements with Italy for the mutual recognition of photocard licences. As such, visitors with UK photocard licences will not need to carry an additional International Driving Permit when driving in Italy.
We have also secured interim arrangements with the Italian authorities which will allow UK licence holders resident in Italy to continue to use their valid UK licence until the end of this year. We are working with the Italian Government to finalise a permanent licence exchange agreement as soon as possible.
Asked by: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat - Edinburgh West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the end of freedom of movement on the haulage industry; and what steps the Government is taking to tackle HGV driver shortages.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Trade and Co-operation Agreement between the UK and the EU delivers a good outcome for UK-based international hauliers. The vast majority of journeys to and from the EU will be able to continue without the need for any additional permits, and UK hauliers also retain rights to do work within and between EU Member States, again with no extra bureaucracy.
UK hauliers will, of course, have to ensure that they comply with the immigration rules applied by EU Member States. The rules for British Citizens taking up work or providing a service in the EU will depend on the rules in individual EU Member States, as some Member States may require a visa and/or work permit from British Citizens intending to work or to provide a service there.
The Department for Transport is working across Government and with the road haulage industry to address the current HGV driver shortage, which is an issue affecting many countries worldwide. For example, the International Road Transport Union predicts a gap of 185,000 drivers by 2027 in Germany.
The Government has already taken firm action, including through training for jobseekers, additional funding for apprenticeships, and taking measures to increase lorry driver testing capacity to bring new drivers into the industry as soon as possible.
Asked by: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat - Edinburgh West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to undertake a consultation on the (a) steps needed to encourage the use of sustainable aviation fuels and (b) creation of a British sustainable aviation industry.
Answered by Robert Courts
The Government believes that sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) have an important role to play in reducing aviation emissions and we are already providing strong support to the sector through the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) and industry competitions.
To further build on this support, as part of the Prime Minister's 10 Point Plan, the Government announced an additional £18m in funding as well as an intention to consult on a blending mandate to drive SAF uptake in the UK. This consultation is planned for the summer and will be complemented by supporting ambitions presented in the department’s upcoming Transport Decarbonisation Plan and Net Zero Aviation Consultation.
Beyond this, the Government is committed to continue working with stakeholders through the Jet Zero Council’s SAF Delivery Group (15 meetings convened to date since November 2020) and other existing channels to explore what further policies are needed to support the sector’s development.