Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of reforming driving licences for (a) Heavy Goods Vehicles and (b) Passenger Carrying Vehicles to be weight-based for tackling the driver shortages in the HGV industry.

We have held initial discussions with some elements of the vocational training sector, and with organisations with delegated examiners, about delegating to them the authority to sign-off the manoeuvres element of the practical test needed to acquire a HGV driving licence. This potential reform in the process would allow DVSA examiners to focus on the on-road element of and increase the number of tests conducted, though this would need a regulatory amendment.

When considering whether drivers in the coach and bus industry would provide a suitable pool of qualified drivers to relieve the HGV driver shortage, we must take into account labour pressures in the bus sector. We continue to keep all options under review.