Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment, if any, they have made of requiring operators of mobile cranes to be licensed in a similar way to those licensed under the Goods Vehicles Licensing of Operators Act 1995.

Mobile cranes mounted on an HGV chassis are not exempt from the requirements contained in the Goods Vehicles (Licensing of Operators) Act 1995. However, cranes which are specially built, or adapted for some lifting operations are exempt from operator licensing, and other regulations, covering Construction and Use, Authorised Weight, and Goods Vehicle Type Approval Regulations. These specially built vehicles are instead authorised to be used on the public highway by Road Vehicles (Authorisation of Special Types) (General) Order 2003 (STGO). The rationale for the difference is that these vehicles are typically used for the purposes of construction and demolition and are normally only used on the public highway on a limited basis to move between sites.

The Department for Transport has previously considered bringing mobile cranes which are not based on an HGV chassis into the scope of operator licensing, most recently when undertaking a review of plating and testing requirements of heavy vehicles which are exempt from roadworthiness testing. At that time, it was not deemed proportionate to include them in the scope of operator licensing. This position is kept under review.