Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government why the Professional and Career Development Loans scheme has not been re-opened for HGV drivers.

Commercial providers of Professional and Career Development Loans have withdrawn from the scheme over the last few years. The scheme ended for new lending when the contract between the government and The Co-operative Bank expired in early 2019.

The department is providing support for Heavy Goods Vehicle (HGV) driver training through other routes. We are investing up to £17 million to create new Skills Bootcamps to offer 5,000 training places in HGV driving to help tackle the current HGV driver shortage. The free, intensive courses will train drivers to be road ready and gain a category C or category C&E licence or additional qualifications, for example to haul fuel, as well as refresher courses to help drivers who have left the profession to return. An additional 1,000 people are expected to be trained through courses accessed locally and funded by the government’s adult education budget.