Contributions
1,819 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDHGV Driver ShortagesI welcome this opportunity to update the House on the actions that my Department and others have been taking to address the shortage in HGV drivers. This is, of course, a global…13 Sept 2021HANSARDHGV Driver ShortagesI do not want to repeat the last hour of this debate, but I have pointed out that there are 6 million EU citizens with pre-settled status, many of whom will either have the right…13 Sept 2021HANSARDHGV Driver ShortagesI am very keen to do exactly as my hon. Friend suggests. That is why I funded Road to Logistics, which the Road Haulage Association has been leading on. The purpose of that plan…13 Sept 2021HANSARDHGV Driver ShortagesI welcome any logistics company contacting me directly. I also regularly meet the Road Haulage Association and Logistics UK, which are representative organisations for the haulage…13 Sept 2021HANSARDHGV Driver ShortagesI can write to the hon. Gentleman with the answer to his question so that he has specific numbers. From recollection, it is in the low hundreds. Most of the companies that have…13 Sept 2021HANSARDHGV Driver ShortagesIt is a long-held reserved power. As the United Kingdom, the United Kingdom Government decide who can come into the country and under what circumstances. There are 6 million EU…13 Sept 2021HANSARDHGV Driver ShortagesI do hope the measures we are introducing will help. I also think the accreditation scheme we talked about, industry-led as it will be, will enable high quality companies, such as…13 Sept 2021HANSARDHGV Driver ShortagesWhat I can guarantee is that we will do everything we possibly can to enable more HGV drivers to pass their tests and get on the road, and to have better conditions and the raft…13 Sept 2021HANSARDHGV Driver ShortagesMy hon. Friend is absolutely right. I am asking the DVLA to prioritise the issuing of HGV licences. That is part of the issue, but he is right to highlight that there is an…13 Sept 2021HANSARDHGV Driver ShortagesIt is a Rugby one, is it? I look forward to visiting very soon to see it for myself.13 Sept 2021HANSARDHGV Driver ShortagesThat is Corley service station, which used to have an excellent Julie’s Pantry, I recall, many—13 Sept 2021HANSARDHGV Driver ShortagesThe hon. Lady is absolutely right. First, we need to make sure that the job is properly remunerated. Secondly, the terms and conditions—the quality of stops—must be commensurate…13 Sept 2021HANSARDHGV Driver ShortagesI am pleased to tell the House that the statutory instrument is going down, which means that the change will be made very soon indeed. I will write to Members to provide further…13 Sept 2021HANSARDHGV Driver ShortagesI absolutely agree with the hon. Lady about the importance of road safety. In this country, we have ended up with 1,700 deaths per year—the number has come down—making ours some…13 Sept 2021HANSARDHGV Driver ShortagesAlthough that goes somewhat outside my remit, I can tell the hon. Gentleman that the Department of Health and Social Care has robust programmes in place, not least through its…13 Sept 2021HANSARDHGV Driver ShortagesMy right hon. Friend makes an excellent point. As I mentioned in passing—I will provide a little more detail—we have raised the funding band from £6,000 to £7,000 to allow large…13 Sept 2021HANSARDHGV Driver ShortagesMr Speaker, it is called the pandemic.13 Sept 2021HANSARDHGV Driver ShortagesMy hon. Friend raises an excellent point that has not come up in the debate so far. We considered CPC requirements during the transition period and we made some changes, and we…13 Sept 2021HANSARDHGV Driver ShortagesAgain, there seems to be some misunderstanding. First, the tests are still required for HGV drivers. We are not compromising safety; the tests are just taking place in a different…13 Sept 2021HANSARDHGV Driver ShortagesIt is of course absolutely true that, with salaries increasing, more people are being encouraged to come into the sector. That means that there may be an impact overall where…13 Sept 2021