Large Goods Vehicles: EU Countries

(asked on 27th February 2018) - View Source
Questioner
Lord Dodds of Duncairn Portrait
Lord Dodds of Duncairn
(Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :

To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what discussions his Department has had with the road haulier industry on access to EU member states after 2019.

Answered by
Robin Walker Portrait
Robin Walker
This question was answered on 6th March 2018

Officials and ministers in the Department for Exiting the European Union and the Department for Transport engage with stakeholders in the road haulage industry, as well as wider groups reliant on road haulage, on a regular basis.

We have conducted a number of informal bilaterals and roundtables with hauliers and trade associations as well as attending a number of conferences organised by the sector. In particular:

  • Secretary of State for Transport has held roundtables with road industry leaders from the motoring, freight and logistics sectors to discuss EU Exit. Issues discussed have included: access to EU Member States; road haulage on the island of Ireland; vehicle standards; customs; and opportunities from EU exit. They have also discussed the Haulage Permits and Trailer Registration Bill. Officials from DExEU have attended these events.

  • The Government engages regularly with the Freight Transport Association (FTA), who are one of the UK’s largest trade associations and represent the transport interests of companies moving goods by road, rail, sea and air. I met with them in December 2017 and discussed their interests and concerns around EU exit, including the Haulage Permits and Trailer Registration Bill. Former Minister the Rt Hon. David Jones, Member for Clwyd West, also attended their annual conference last year and gave the keynote speech.

  • The Government has also close and constructive links with the Road Haulage Association (RHA) - a UK trade association dedicated to the needs of UK road transport operators.

We will continue to engage with the haulage industry and seek views from across the sector in preparing for the UK’s withdrawal from the EU.

Details of ministerial meetings are published in the Department’s Quarterly Transparency Returns, which are publicly available on GOV.UK.

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