Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she plans to publish a long-term strategy for improving driver welfare facilities.

There are no current plans to publish a national strategy on HGV parking and welfare facilities.

Work is underway in the Department to improve understanding of lorry parking capacity and demand and driver welfare needs, including a national survey of lorry parking. The survey will provide a fresh baseline on the availability of secure lorry parking and HGV driver welfare provision and is scheduled to be published in the autumn.

The survey was last conducted in 2022 and provided the evidence base for the design of the HGV Parking Matched Funding Grant Scheme. Working with industry, this scheme is delivering up to £35.7 million in joint investment to enhance truck stops across England. The scheme is helping to improve driver welfare facilities, lorry parking provision, site security and decarbonisation.

This investment is on top of up to £30 million in investment by National Highways and industry at truck stops and motorway service areas along the strategic road network.

The government is also prioritising improvements to the planning system. Strengthened policy on freight and logistics has been proposed in the recent consultation on the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) to improve the consideration of freight, including lorry parking, in the planning system.