Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) (Amendment) (No. 4) Regulations 2021

Considered in Grand Committee

Moved by

That the Grand Committee do consider the Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) (Amendment) (No. 4) Regulations 2021.

My Lords, first, I bring to your Lordships’ attention a matter relating to one of the SIs to be debated in Grand Committee today. It relates to the SI that covers the removal of the car and trailer driving test, which was due to come into force on 15 November and was debated in the other place yesterday. For procedural reasons, the SI will now be unable to be approved by the other place by 15 November, so we are exploring all options with the House authorities about bringing in an identical SI with an amended date in the future. I hope that noble Lords agree with me that it remains appropriate to debate the substance of these SIs, as planned, in Grand Committee today.

These two statutory instruments, along with the Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) (Amendment) (No. 3) Regulations 2021, which follows the negative procedure, are a package of measures designed to increase driving examiner availability and allocate this time to test heavy goods vehicle drivers, thereby helping to reduce the acute HGV driver shortage in this country. This is a global issue. It has affected the haulage industry for many years, but it has been further exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic, which meant that driver testing had to be suspended for much of last year. During this time, the shortage increased further as new drivers could not join the industry to replace those leaving.

The shortage of HGV drivers affects the supply chains not only of fresh food but of fuel, medicines and medical equipment across Great Britain. We therefore need to tackle this matter with urgency, and these SIs are part of the 30 interventions that the Government are putting in place to tackle the shortage of drivers.

I turn to the contents of the SIs. The Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2021 will remove the requirement for drivers who hold a category B licence, namely for driving a car, to take a separate car and trailer— category B + E—test before they can drive a vehicle combination in that class. Instead, category B + E entitlement will automatically be granted to car drivers and backdated to all valid category B car licences that have been obtained since the 1 January 1997. Of course, licences prior to that date already have that entitlement. Removing the test will free up around 2,400 more tests each month that can then be allocated to those wishing to take an HGV driving test. The public consultation showed support for the change, with 65% responding positively to the removal of the trailer test.

Road safety is, of course, of the utmost importance, and I understand why road safety concerns have been raised. That is why we have committed to review this legislation at regular intervals, initially after three years have passed and thereafter at five-year intervals. We recommend that all car licence holders—that is, anyone with a B licence and not only those issued after 1997 and so impacted by these changes—should undertake training to safely tow and manage trailers. We are developing an accreditation scheme, with help from the trailer industry and testing providers, to further incentivise drivers to get training and so maintain our excellent road safety record. This scheme, planned to launch early next year, will focus on specific driver needs when towing different types of trailers through the provision of specialised modules and will provide an opportunity to offer standardised training to any driver who wishes to tow a trailer, thereby enhancing road safety standards and delivering the specific skills that drivers who tow need.

I take road safety very seriously, and we should be proud that the UK has some of the safest roads in the world. I would like to reassure noble Lords that our support for the #towsafe4freddie campaign will continue, and we will draw attention to the importance of motorists doing safety checks whenever they are towing. We will also encourage drivers through our existing campaigns and will work with leisure and towing groups, as we already do, to reach out through their communications to offer training.

The second instrument, the Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) (Amendment) (No. 4) Regulations 2021, will similarly free up driving examiner time, which can be reallocated to more driving tests. This SI will remove the staging element for provisional vocational licence holders wishing to obtain a licence to drive an articulated HGV, which is a category C + E vehicle, or a bus and heavy trailer licence, which is category D + E. Currently, a test for a rigid HGV or bus, a category C and D respectively, must first be passed before a person may then take a test for the articulated or trailer-towing vehicle.

This SI will remove the requirement for the trailer-less stage, although of course that does not mean that people will not still take that test, because many people drive a category C vehicle. However, people will not then have to get that before they get to the articulated licence. Anyone issued with a provisional licence for an HGV or a provisional bus licence will be issued with this + E entitlement from 15 November. Of course, the option remains for a person to stage their training, if they wish, or to take the category C test and stop there, because it is a very popular type of vehicle.

Streamlining in this way has the support of the haulage industry and received significant support in our public consultation, with more than 70% of people either agreeing or strongly agreeing with the proposals. It will free around 900 more tests every month and decrease the amount of time, and probably the cost, relating to becoming qualified. This will be achieved without losing the integrity of the full test or reducing road safety standards.

The final instrument in the package, which is subject to the negative resolution procedure, is the Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) (Amendment) (No. 3) Regulations 2021. This allows for the off-road elements of the practical driving test for large vehicles to take place with a third-party examiner, overseen by the DVSA.

As we have seen in recent weeks, the HGV driver shortage has the potential to impact every aspect of our daily lives, so we must deal with it urgently. This is what we are doing today. Together, these measures free an additional 3,300 test appointments every month, which will help to reduce the acute driver shortage. I commend these regulations to the Committee.

My Lords, I very much welcome these proposals. Having said that, I have a number of questions to ask my noble friend. First, why is Northern Ireland not included? I am sure there is an obvious reason, but it is not clear to me. I note that, in paragraph 7.1 of the Explanatory Memorandum to the Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2021, there is a statement, allegedly from the industry,

“reporting shortages of around 76,000 drivers.”

From the inquiries I have made within the industry, it is nearer to 100,000, so I wonder what the evidence really is for 76,000. Was that figure given to the department some months ago, before the build-up we have now? That is a concern.

I also made some inquiries about the EU. Quite frankly, it appears that we are top of the list of shortages. I have not covered the whole of the EU, but it seems that the major countries with which we are competing do not have the extent of shortages that we have now. That is a major worry. I put it to my noble friend that if we did not know about the challenge from Brexit in January 2020, we must have known of the beginnings of these difficulties in the summer of 2020. Here we are, well past the summer of 2021, and, at best, we will see the benefits of this early in 2022. Somehow or other, we have allowed ourselves to drift, which seems particularly damaging to the UK economy at this time.

I come on to timing specifically. Let us assume these go through, as I am sure they will, as they are welcome, how long before we can expect to see some change on the ground with new people driving heavy goods vehicles? Do we anticipate this will be in three, six or nine months? It cannot be a very short time, certainly not before the middle of 2022.

While one should always be cautious about one’s position, I declare an interest in that I applied for my driving licence. I was advised that it was speedier to do it online, so I carefully did it online towards the end of September. I got an acknowledgement online on 1 October, saying that it had been received, so I have the reference and everything. Here we are on 9 November, which is nearly six weeks later. I am no different from others; I have talked to some colleagues in my former constituency and they are all waiting six, eight or 10 weeks. I would like to know from my noble friend whether this is because the processing is being done by staff at home or is because the staff are in the department, but something is holding up the issue of these licences. To the best of my knowledge, my licence is clean, so this should be straightforward. My application was accepted. I am having a problem, as are others in my former constituency. This is a real problem, and I wonder whether my noble friend can address it.

My Lords, my first task is to apologise most profusely to the Committee for not being here at the start of the Minister’s comments. I am sorry about that; business progressed a bit faster than I anticipated.

I am extremely grateful to the Minister for her careful explanation of the new regulations. I should declare my interest: I hold a C+E HGV driving licence and am a qualified HGV driving instructor, albeit out of date. In addition, I hold what is called an H licence, which covers a track-laying vehicle that is steered by its tracks. From time to time, I drive vehicles in circumstances that require an H licence on behalf of the REME Museum and others. In the past few months, I have driven a tank transporter with a gross train weight of around 80 tonnes, so I think I know what I am talking about.

The Minister explained the reasons why these changes are desirable. I do not disagree with her thinking. She has also made changes to the drivers’ hours regulations, to which I and the noble Baroness, Lady Randerson, have tabled fatal amendments. I know that the usual channels are working hard to find us time to debate those regulations, but part of the problem is that the debate would not fit into a 60-minute dinner break business slot. It is unfortunate that, despite the severe problems arising from the shortage of HGV drivers, we still have not debated those regulations.

The regulations before the Committee are fairly technical. The No. 2 regulations dispense with the requirement for a separate test to drive a light vehicle towing a trailer. Since I passed my car test in the 1970s, I have always had a B+E entitlement. The proposed changes are relatively low risk and worth while, although the Minister should monitor the effect carefully. I do not believe that it is worth the effort of an additional test for light trailers. The vast majority of drivers would seek advice from a more experienced person before attempting to tow a trailer, but it is not a hugely complicated issue. The Committee should note that the regulations make a review at the three-year point mandatory. I point out that I see quite a few incidents involving light vehicles and trailers and know not whether inexperience was a factor, although I think that it is unlikely.

It is important to understand that passing an HGV driving test does not make someone a professional lorry driver; that takes far longer. I want to make it clear that I have never supported a two-stage process for acquiring a C+E licence. I have always regarded this as a wasteful process with no road safety benefits. The gap between the two tests is often only an opportunity to gain bad habits that need to be eradicated before the pupil is ready for the C+E test with the trailer. Unfortunately, for a long time, it has not been possible to gain a car licence by passing an HGV test. My ideal HGV pupil would be someone who had never driven a car and was aged about 25. I would start them off on a full-size artic, initially off the public road.

The other changes the Minister proposes are merely simple efficiencies. To gain the HGV licence, the candidate has to reach a certain high standard of driving that is objectively measured by the examiner. The HGV test is not a short run out. It is an extended test that will expose any weaknesses in skill and competence. When I was undertaking commercial HGV driver training, I was always confident in the skill and objectivity of the department’s examiners. I have no recollection of any of my pupils failing their test when, in my assessment, they were up to the required standard. I assure the Committee that, in my opinion, these changes to the HGV testing regime are desirable, irrespective of the driver shortage.