Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment was made of the circumstances of UK-based private hire drivers who give tours to the EU as part of negotiations on the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement.

During UK-EU negotiations, market access provisions for passenger transport operators were discussed at length. Prior to these negotiations, the Government also discussed provisions with relevant passenger transport stakeholders.

Following the conclusion of the Trade Cooperation Agreement between the UK and EU, the GOV.UK page https://www.gov.uk/guidance/run-international-bus-or-coach-services-and-tours has been updated to reflect the current rules for passenger transport services that operate to Europe and other countries. We have also been working with the industry to provide bespoke guidance.

The UK also acceded to the Interbus Agreement in its own right on 1 January 2021. This provides reciprocal rights for UK and EU operators to provide ‘occasional services’ (holiday tours and private trips) to and from respective territories.