Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the shortage of HGV drivers on the gritting of roads during the forthcoming winter.

Section 41(1A) of the Highways Act 1980 places a duty on local authorities to ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, that safe passage along a highway is not endangered by snow or ice. It is the local authority’s responsibility to ensure that there are adequate drivers available to carry out gritting.

Alongside the interventions that Government has made to mitigate any possible HGV driver shortage, the DfT is working closely with local authorities and stakeholder bodies such as ADEPT and will be monitoring the capacity of local authorities with respect to driver numbers over the winter period.