PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Large Goods Vehicle Drivers: Vacancies (16 December 2021)

The Government has taken 32 specific measures to deal with the shortage of HGV drivers. These include funding for apprenticeships, 11,000 places on Skills Bootcamp training backed by £34 million, increasing the supply of vocational driving tests, prioritising vocational driving licence applications, and investing £32.5 million in roadside facilities for HGV drivers. These are listed on gov.uk.

Our measures are working. The number of available HGV driving tests has increased by 90% compared to pre-pandemic levels and currently stands at 3,200 tests per week. Test capacity now exceeds demand and the provision of vocational tests is not a barrier to people becoming HGV drivers. Despite the increase in vocational driving licence applications and licence renewals, there are no delays in processing and all new applications are being processed within five working days, unless further medical checks are required. Recent assessments by industry bodies such as Logistics UK suggest that the shortfall in drivers has started to reduce.