Asked by: Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 21 October 2021 to Question 56327, on Driving: Qualifications, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of changing the Driver Certificate of Professional Competence process to help tackle the shortage of HGV drivers.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Government continues to explore a range of options to help tackle the shortage of HGV drivers and has put in place 28 interventions to date. The role and impact of the Driver Certificate of Professional Competence will be kept under review. The current requirements are heavily influenced by legislation inherited from the EU.
Asked by: Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will convene an HGV driver taskforce to (a) increase infrastructure investment and improve conditions on the motorway networks, including investment in lorry parking and truck stops and (b) promote haulage as a career with a more diverse workforce.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Government recognises the need to ensure hauliers have access to appropriate services and facilities. This week, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced £32.5 million of investment in roadside facilities for HGV drivers.
The Department will continue to engage with key stakeholders to encourage the development of more safe, secure, and high-quality lorry parking to improve driver welfare.
The Government is also aware of the demographic imbalances in the HGV driver workforce including the lack of women drivers, under 25s and drivers from ethnic minorities. Addressing these issues and creating a workforce that will better reflect society will be key to permanently solving the driver shortage.
This will be for the industry to lead on but the Government will continue to support where it can, such as improving the accessibility of facilities for women drivers and increasing the provision of overnight lorry parking.
Asked by: Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress he has made on addressing concerns raised by the British Airline Pilots Association on the impact of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU on flight crews holding UK licences.
Answered by Robert Courts
The Secretary of State regularly meets with stakeholders in the sector and listens to the issues raised.
Ministers have also replied to correspondence from BALPA on concerns about the recognition of UK licences and employment opportunities for pilots following EU Exit. Most recently, the Secretary of State for Transport responded to a correspondence from BALPA on 11th October.
Advice given to BALPA includes referring to the Aviation Skills Retention Platform which was launched by the Department to support workers in the sector.
Asked by: Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to offer support towards the cost of obtaining a Driver Certificate of Professional Competence for those people interested in (a) returning to and (b) taking up driving a lorry, bus, or coach professionally.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Responsibility for planning and completing the necessary training in order to meet Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC) requirements lies with individual drivers and their employers. In some circumstances, employers might decide to support the driver financially to undertake the training. The cost of periodic training courses charged to the driver is decided by approved centres and determined by commercial factors.
Many employers are currently offering training packages to support drivers whose Driver CPC has lapsed to update their training through classroom or online courses. Heavy goods vehicle (HGV) licence holders, who are currently unemployed or are in receipt of Universal Credit can, at the discretion of local Department for Work (DWP) advisors, access the DWP Flexible Support Fund to renew their Driver CPC.
The Department for Education is also investing up to £10 million pounds to create new ‘Skills Bootcamps’ to train up to 5,000 people to become HGV drivers. These free, intensive courses will train drivers to be road ready and gain a category C or category C+E licence, helping to tackle the current HGV driver shortage.
An additional 1,000 people are expected to be trained through courses accessed locally and funded by the government’s adult education budget. To help make sure new drivers can be road ready as quickly as possible, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has also agreed to ensure that driving tests will be available for participants who have completed training courses as soon as possible.
Asked by: Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what risk assessment his Department carried out before 31 January 2020 on the effect of the UK leaving the EU on the domestic road haulage sector; and what steps he took in response to the findings of that risk assessment.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
The UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) allows EU hauliers to continue to operate to, from, through and within the UK without the need for permits. The TCA ensures that the vast majority of journeys will continue as they did before the end of the transition period. The agreement also entirely respects the UK’s right to decide for ourselves how we regulate the domestic transport sector since domestic transport standards are out of scope of the Agreement.
Asked by: Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department made of the potential implications for his policies for the domestic road haulage sector of the combined effect of the UK leaving the EU and the covid-19 outbreak; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
The UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) allows EU hauliers to continue to operate to, from, through and within the UK without the need for permits. The TCA ensures that the vast majority of journeys will continue as they did before the end of the transition period. The Agreement also entirely respects the UK’s right to decide for ourselves how we regulate the domestic transport sector since domestic transport standards are out of scope of the Agreement.
On the impact of Covid-19 on the domestic haulage market, Covid-19 necessitated a suspension in commercial driver testing, pausing supply of domestic talent, but the DVSA have now restarted and ramped up testing to address the backlog. This shortage of HGV drivers is longstanding and predates the UK’s decision to leave the EU.
Asked by: Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure priority access to (a) theory (b) practical driving tests for people with additional needs or their carers.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
Emergency practical driving tests are available for critical workers in England or Wales who work for the NHS, in health or social care, the emergency services or a local council, who also need to drive as part of their job or respond to ‘threats to life’ as part of their job. The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has not been able to offer critical worker tests in Scotland following advice from the Scottish Government.
Asked by: Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when a Project Speed review of investment planning for the rail network will be undertaken.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
We continue to develop our rail portfolio in line with the rail industry’s Project SPEED principles, reflecting the need to deliver fast and efficient outcomes for the significant investment this government is making in rail. That means we are embedding the rail industry’s Project SPEED principles in every one of our investment decisions. We are also working with colleagues across Government to ensure that the HMT led Project Speed initiatives are also embedded in rail projects.