Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which Government agency or agencies will be responsible for (a) checking lorry paperwork, (b) issuing fines and (c) impounding non-compliant lorries under the proposed Kent Access Permit scheme.

In August 2020, Her Majesty’s Government consulted on the use of a Kent Access Permit (KAP) for any EU-bound Heavy Commercial Vehicle (HCV – goods vehicles weighing more than 7.5 tonnes) taking goods via the Short Straits Channel crossing after the end of the EU transition period. Under these proposals, if taken forward:

1. Contractors working for DfT, HMRC and Defra (or its agencies) would confirm if an HGV driver has a valid KAP using the Smart Freight Service, and in some cases, conduct documentation checks.

2. Fixed Penalty Notices or Financial Penalty Deposit Notices of £300 would be issued by the Police or the Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) if an HCV driver did not have a valid KAP.

3. The DVSA would be able to impound vehicles should the driver choose not to pay the fine.