Large Goods Vehicle Drivers: Vacancies

(asked on 15th November 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the shortage of HGV drivers across the UK; and what consultation has taken place with representatives of the road haulage industry in connection with that assessment.


Answered by
Trudy Harrison Portrait
Trudy Harrison
This question was answered on 18th November 2021

The Department for Transport is working across Government and with the road haulage industry to address the current HGV driver shortage, which is an issue affecting many countries worldwide. For example, the International Road Transport Union predicts a gap of 185,000 drivers by 2027 in Germany. Current trade association estimates of the UK driver shortage range from 85,000 to 90,000. The current shortage includes both a chronic, long-term, component and an acute element. The Office for National Statistics estimates the number of drivers to be 268,000 in the 12 months ending June 2021, which is 39,000 fewer than the year ending June 2019.

The Department has held regular meetings with the road haulage industry and trade unions regarding driver shortages and its impact on supply chains The Government has taken decisive action to address the acute driver shortage, with 30 specific measures already taken to support driver training, increase the availability of driving tests and improve the standard and availability of roadside facilities. These measures are working. There is no backlog of HGV licence applications and we are seeing over a thousand more people than normal apply for a licence each week.

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