Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps the Government is taking to support the UK freight sector.

The Government is taking a number of steps to support the UK freight sector. These include working to address the LGV Driver shortage by increasing the supply of tests, speed up processing of licence applications and supporting the development of new apprenticeship standards; supporting the development of cleaner vehicles through our Low Carbon Truck trial and improving efficiency and reducing journey numbers through our Longer Semi-Trailer trial.

The Government is also investing record amounts in the rail network in this Control Period and beyond. As part of the £38bn investment in the network as a whole, the Strategic Freight Network fund is providing £235.9 million to 2019 to deliver key infrastructure improvements to support the growth of the rail freight sector. I am committed to supporting the growth of rail freight in the UK and have therefore been working with the industry to develop a Rail Freight Strategy, which will set out our shared vision for the future.

The Government also provides assistance to the freight industry through the Mode Shift Revenue Support Scheme and the Waterborne Freight Grant scheme, which encourage modal shift from road to rail or water where the costs are higher than road, and where there are environmental benefits to be gained.