Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to improve recruitment of HGV drivers.

To improve working conditions for HGV drivers, the Department and industry are jointly investing up to £43.5 million to upgrade truckstops across England. This is on top of up to £26 million joint investment by National Highways and industry in lorry parking facilities along the strategic roads network. This funding is supporting operators across 30 counties in England to improve security, showers and refreshment facilities and increase lorry parking spaces.

In addition, the Department has been working with the insurance and road haulage trade associations to raise awareness of fleet insurance policies that can provide cover for newly qualified drivers without higher premiums.

To support drivers in returning to the sector, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency has introduced more flexible Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC) requirements for those driving in the UK. The requirement removes the need to complete 35 hours of training prior to a return to driving and replaces it with a 7-hour ‘return to driving’ training module, and a requirement to complete the 28 hours of other CPC training within 12 months.

The Department for Transport is also a strong supporter of the Generation Logistics campaign. Led by the industry, this initiative aims to raise awareness and enhance perceptions of careers in logistics, particularly among young people and underrepresented groups.