Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plan to remove the temporary permitted weight limit of 32 tonnes on volumetric concrete mixers; and if he will make a statement.

There is no temporary permitted weight limit of 32 tonnes for volumetric concrete mixers (VCMs). 32 tonnes is the standard weight limit applicable to 4-axle rigid HGVs.

Following consultation in 2017, the Government implemented a temporary arrangement whereby a limited number of VCMs would be permitted to temporarily operate at weights higher than the standard 32 tonnes for vehicles of their design, using Vehicle Special Orders (VSOs). This was in recognition that, historically, some in the sector had operated VCMs at laden weights in excess of the 32-tonne limit. This temporary arrangement was put in place to allow time for the industry to adjust to the normal permitted weight limits over a reasonable timescale. It was not enacted as a step towards increasing permitted vehicle weights more widely.