Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the article in The House magazine published 7 February 2022, entitled Shelf Preservation Society, if he will publish details of (a) the 32 actions that the Government has taken to support the UK's supply chain, (b) the cost of those actions and (c) his assessment of their effectiveness.

The Government has published details of the 32 specific measures to deal with the shortage of HGV drivers on Gov.uk at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/topical-events/hgv-driver-shortage-uk-government-response/about#stay-up-to-date

Costs of the Measures

• The cost of processing visas for up to 4,700 HGV drivers for the food industry and 300 fuel drivers were borne by the transport operators and included travel, accommodation and the costs of the visas.
• The cost of processing endorsements for the fuel drivers was met within existing Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy budgets.
• The extension of cabotage rights for foreign hauliers in the UK to 30 April 2022 has no direct implementation cost to Government.
• £500,000 was added to the Mode Shift Revenue Support grant scheme
• The cost of the HGV Skills Bootcamps to train just over 11,000 more people to become HGV drivers is £34 million.
• Large Goods Vehicle Driver and Urban Driver apprenticeships are funded through the Apprenticeship Levy.
• The closing date for applications for the £3,000 incentive payment to employers who employed an apprentice is 15 May 2022. Therefore, costs are not yet available.
• Data is not yet available on how many learners have benefitted from the extra funding for adults who completes a vocational qualification in HGV driving through the adult education budget in the 2021 to 2022 academic year. Therefore, the cost cannot yet be calculated.
• The cost of the Department for Work and Pension’s driver training pilot delivered through Jobcentre Plus is £82,150.
• Road to Logistics received £1 million in grant funding.
• Think Logistics received £50,000 in grant funding.
• The provisional cost of deploying 24 Ministry of Defence driving examiners to conduct vocational driving tests was £281,000 per month for up to 3 months.
• The measures to make it easier for former armed forces personnel to qualify as HGV drivers was funded through existing Ministry of Defence budgets.
• The cost of the letter sent to nearly 1 million HGV drivers was £224,509.04 including printing, overheads and postage.
• The cost of the review of HGV parking and facilities will be a maximum of £360,038.05 (excluding VAT).
• £32.5 million is being invested in roadside facilities for HGV drivers, such as security, showers, toilets and eating areas.
• The flexible support fund is an existing budget to help jobseekers and those on Universal Credit reenter the workplace and is available for Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC) training if appropriate.
• The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and Ministry of Defence continue to work together to ensure accurate costs of mobilising military tanker drivers to help make fuel deliveries are captured and re-charged to the haulage industry as appropriate under Military Aid to the Civil Authorities principles and pre-agreed contingency arrangements.
• The cost of suspension of the HGV road user levy until August 2023 is set out at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/heavy-goods-vehicle-hgv-levy-suspension/heavy-goods-vehicle-hgv-levy-suspension
• Other measures such as the relaxation of drivers’ hours, restrictions on late night deliveries, extension of driver qualifications and changes to regulation have been undertaken using existing departmental budgets.
• Increases in the number of vocational driving tests taken and the number of driving licence applications received provides addition income for the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency and the Driver and Vehicle Licencing Agency. These schemes operate on the basis that users pay fees to cover costs.

Assessment of Effectiveness

These measures are working to assist reducing the driver shortage and its consequences.

For example, the number of available HGV driving tests has increased by over 100% compared to pre-pandemic levels and currently stands at 3,200 tests per week. Test capacity now exceeds demand, and the provision of vocational tests is not a barrier to people becoming HGV drivers. Despite the increase in vocational driving licence applications and licence renewals are being processed within five working days, unless further medical checks are required.

Recent assessments by industry bodies such as Logistics UK suggest that the shortfall in drivers is already reducing.