Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of the number of (a) applications it will receive for European Conference of Ministers of Transport multilateral road haulage permits and (b) the number of European Conference of Ministers of Transport permits that will be available to UK hauliers after the UK leaves the EU.

The UK is seeking reciprocal arrangements on road haulage in our negotiations with the EU and we are confident of reaching a good deal which works for this key sector. Through the Haulage Permits and Trailer Registration Act and subsequent regulations, the Government is prepared for the range of possible outcomes, including the unlikely possibility of a no-deal outcome.

The work the Department has undertaken will ensure we are able to allocate permits efficiently to deliver the greatest economic benefit should demand exceed supply. While there are currently around 32,000 vehicles authorised on Community Licences, we do not expect to receive this many ECMT applications.

In 2019 the UK will have a total of 3,816 permits, comprised of 984 annual permits and 2,832 monthly permits.