Asked by
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress they have made
towards amending the requirements of the driving test for HGV
drivers.
(Con)
I am doubling up and answering for my noble friend Lady Vere of
Norbiton today. There is something about Whips: they are
definitely versatile, if nothing else.
Noble Lords
Hear, hear!
(Con)
Regulations came into force on 15 November 2021: the Motor
Vehicles (Driving Licences) (Amendment) (No. 4) Regulations 2021,
which removed the staging element for provisional vocational
licence holders wishing to drive an articulated HGV, and the
Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) (Amendment) (No. 3) Regulations
2021, which allow HGV off-road manoeuvres to be tested by
approved third parties. Legislation for the Motor Vehicles
(Driving Licences) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2021 was
relaid on 23 November 2021 to allow full car licence holders to
tow a trailer without having to pass a separate category B+E
test.
(LD)
My Lords, the Government’s emergency measures to deal with the
driver shortage include ending the need for additional training
and testing for qualified van and car drivers before they can tow
trailers and caravans of up to 3,500 kilograms. In future, you
will be able to pass your driving test one day and tow your
caravan up the motorway the next, without any additional
training. This requirement was originally introduced in 1997 for
road safety reasons. Does the Minister agree that the Government
need to look again at this irresponsible plan and heed the
serious safety warnings coming from the haulage industry to
preserve Britain’s good record on road safety?
(Con)
The department and the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency will
continue to encourage people who want to drive a car and trailer
to get professional training, to promote road safety and support
those businesses. All car drivers wishing to tow a trailer for
leisure or business will be encouraged to undertake a voluntary
accreditation scheme, which is being developed with the help of
the trailer industry and training providers. The scheme is
planned to be launched early next year and will focus on a core
model for all drivers, with sector-specific modules for different
towing activities.
of Cheltenham (LD) [V]
My Lords, almost 30 years ago I made my maiden speech in another
place on road safety, after I lost one of my schoolfriends in a
traffic accident. According to the Road Haulage Association, new
recruits to the industry may be put off by the Government’s plans
to allow longer hours. Is the Minister aware of this? What is her
assessment of the implications for road safety of increasing
drivers’ hours? Are there any plans for a review after 12 months
to assess the impact?
(Con)
We take safety very seriously. Any death on the road is one death
too many. Our record on road safety is internationally
recognised, and we will continue to work across a range of
sectors to ensure that the details of those changes continue to
support high driving standards for both HGVs and private
motorists. We have committed to review the legislation at regular
intervals—initially at three years and then at five.
(Lab)
What support is there for the Government’s proposals as far as
the future of the industry is concerned? Does the Minister agree
with me and the Road Haulage Association that shorter driving
tests do not make for better drivers? There are enough problems
around people dying as a result of collisions with heavy goods
vehicles without making the driving test any easier.
(Con)
I absolutely understand what the noble Lord is saying, but we
held quite a big consultation. A lot of people in the industry
were happy with the new rules going ahead. We have had to take
some action to ease the problem, and I feel we have taken
proportionate action to do this without hampering safety on the
roads.
(Con)
In the last 18 months, we have lost 55,000 domestic United
Kingdom HGV drivers. Many reasons have been given for this, one
of which is the lack of proper facilities on the routes which
they cover. I know the Government have provided £32 million in
the Budget to alleviate some of these problems, but does my noble
friend think this is enough, particularly as there is a mammoth
shortage—only 1,400 places for parking these vehicles while heavy
goods vehicle drivers carry out their work?
(Con)
My noble friend makes a very good point. We are committed to
looking at established and new approaches to increase the
provision for improved overnight lorry parking in England, as
well as developing innovative approaches to provide more
capacity. The Secretary of State has announced an investment of
£32.5 million in the next spending period in roadside facilities
for HGV drivers on the road. The funding will go towards
supporting the industry to improve the security and facilities
available to existing sites, making the use of lorry parks more
attractive to drivers. It may also be used to increase spaces for
lorry drivers in England, mainly through part funding of local
proposals. This can clearly be done; my noble friend Lady
Bloomfield told me this morning that a new facility has been
opened in Kent which has 400 additional slots opening up over the
Christmas period, with top-range food—both foreign and English—as
well as showers, loos and everything else that might be
needed.
(Lab)
As has been said, one of the issues raised in relation to the
shortage of HGV drivers is the poor facilities available for such
drivers to take a break out of the cab and be able to get
something to eat, use clean toilets and take a shower. We
continue to see massive developments in warehousing and
logistics, with giant sheds being put up and distribution centres
opened. Why do the Government not set minimum standards for the
facilities that have to be provided for drivers, and why is that
not a requirement for granting planning permission for such
developments, including those facilities having to be available
to all HGV drivers who wish to use them?
(Con)
The noble Lord makes a good point. The Government are determined
that the planning system should play its part in meeting the
needs of hauliers and addressing current deficiencies. Planning
plays a critical part in the allocation of land for lorry
parking. On 8 November, the Secretary of State for Transport
published a Written Ministerial Statement addressing the
strategic national need for more lorry parking and better
services and lorry parks in England, and we will be investing
£32.5 million in roadside facilities. We have published planning
practice guidance setting out how local planning authorities can
assess the need for, and allocate land to, logistical site users,
and we are accelerating work recommended by the National
Infrastructure Commission to consider the appropriateness of
current planning practice guidance. This includes taking forward
a review of how the freight sector is currently represented in
guidance.
(Lab)
My Lords, has the Minister ever tried to reverse a caravan, a
trailer or a boat or heavy goods vehicle trailer? Would she not
agree that it needs quite a lot of training? It is very nice for
those who cannot be bothered to take a test to hear the
Government say that we do not need a test any more, but that
cannot contribute to road safety.
(Con)
The noble Lord will be pleased to hear that I can reverse a
trailer; I have been doing so from quite a young age, and quite
successfully. At the moment, I have to reverse a trailer into a
tiny space by our carport, and I can do it.
Noble Lords
Hear, hear!
(Con)
But the noble Lord makes an important point. The reversing
exercise is one of the common reasons for failure in most of the
tests; taking and passing this part of the test with an assessor
from the driver’s training school will speed up this element of
the test without compromising safety. The Government have
announced 32 measures to tackle the driver shortage and bolster
supply chains in the UK. However, we are not taking away safety,
and we hope that the fact that the test will still be done, even
if it is by the training school, means that it will be safe.
(Lab Co-op)
My Lords, I am glad that I did not ask the question about
reversing. I follow up the excellent question from the noble
Lord, Lord Kirkhope, about facilities. Has the Minister ever been
to France? In France, they do not just have service areas but
“aires” where heavy good vehicles can stop or park, with toilets
and places where the drivers can wash, and they are all the way
down every motorway and main road. If the French can do it, why
cannot we?
(Con)
I agree; anything the French can do, we can definitely do
better.
Noble Lords
Hear, hear!
(Con)
We are heading into the ridiculous now, are we not? I answered
that question when I answered my noble friend Lord Kirkhope. I
could not agree more; this is very important and vital. If we do
not do this, we will not get the drivers to drive our HGV
lorries, and we are working on this. As I said, it can be done,
because one in Kent has just opened.
(Lab Co-op)
One.
(Con)
Yes, I know; we need to go right across the country, and we will
do so.
