First Report - Road freight supply chain

Select Committee
Transport Committee HC 162 1 June 2022
Report Status Government responded
Conclusions & Recommendations 25 items (14 recs)
Source View on Parliament website
Government Response (AI assessment · 24 of 25 classified)
Accepted 9
Accepted in Part 1
Acknowledged 11
Deferred 2
Not Addressed 1
Clear

Recommendations

7 results
3 Acknowledged
Para 22
We want to see greater ambition, which means the introduction of a coherent strategic plan.
Recommendation
We want to see greater ambition, which means the introduction of a coherent strategic plan. In the five years since our predecessor Committee examined this issue, the sector has failed to solve its own problems. Little to no improvement has … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government welcomes the Committee's steer on the central role of industry, saying key issues are for industry to lead, but they will continue to work with industry and consider the need for short-term mitigations.
Department for Transport
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6 Acknowledged
Para 29
The Government, in consultation with the sector, should devise a binding code of conduct setting...
Recommendation
The Government, in consultation with the sector, should devise a binding code of conduct setting minimum standards for employers’ and other businesses’ treatment of HGV drivers.
Government Response Summary
The government notes the need for improved standards for HGV drivers, but believes industry must lead the implementation of working practices. Government supports recent increases to remuneration and is providing £345,000 to support a recruitment campaign led by industry sponsorship.
Department for Transport
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12 Acknowledged
Para 43
The Government should set a minimum standard for driver facilities.
Recommendation
The Government should set a minimum standard for driver facilities. This should cover: Ȥ Security to protect drivers and their vehicles; Ȥ Availability and cleanliness of toilet and shower facilities; Ȥ Food options, including healthy choices; and Ȥ Sufficient provision … Read more
Government Response Summary
The Government is considering what role standards have to play in driving improvements to driver facilities and encouraging providers to properly maintain and improve their business offerings, including on the areas raised by the Committee.
Department for Transport
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13 Acknowledged
Para 45
The Government owns the freehold of a number of motorway service areas.
Recommendation
The Government owns the freehold of a number of motorway service areas. Delays in negotiating leasehold extensions with operators are holding up necessary investments in some of these facilities. While the Government must, of course, ensure it receives value for … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government is assessing future ownership options for motorway service areas (MSA) freeholds and investing £52.5 million in roadside facility improvements, but makes no firm commitments regarding leasehold negotiations.
Department for Transport
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14 Acknowledged
Para 46
The Department should inject more urgency and immediately escalate and prioritise negotiations to agree new...
Recommendation
The Department should inject more urgency and immediately escalate and prioritise negotiations to agree new leases with motorway service operators operating on Government-owned land.
Government Response Summary
The government is assessing future ownership options for government-owned MSA land to maximize taxpayer value and ensure responsiveness to future road users, and investing £52.5 million in roadside facility improvements including at MSAs.
Department for Transport
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17 Acknowledged
Para 57
In other policy areas, where the Government has run out of patience with inertia, it...
Recommendation
In other policy areas, where the Government has run out of patience with inertia, it has threatened industry with actions which would be taken if the industry does not find its own solution. Similar examples can be found in measures … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government notes the recommendation but highlights its existing 33 interventions to address the HGV driver shortage and says it will continue to engage with industry stakeholders.
Department for Transport
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20 Acknowledged
The average age of HGV drivers continues to increase.
Recommendation
The average age of HGV drivers continues to increase. Although the sector is perhaps more open to female drivers than in the past, it has largely failed to attract a diverse workforce. It is disappointing how little progress has been … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government recognizes that the lack of diversity continues to present a barrier to solving labor shortages and supports the industry-led Generation Logistics campaign highlighting sector opportunities to under-represented groups.
Department for Transport
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2 Conclusion Acknowledged
Para 21
In the past, the Department for Transport argued that the haulage sector itself was primarily responsible for addressing driver recruitment and retention. The unprecedented nature of the recent crisis led the Government to take a different tack. That change was welcome. However, the Government’s piecemeal approach has involved a range …
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the central role of industry in ensuring a resilient workforce in the road freight sector and will continue to work with industry to make improvements for the long term and consider the need for short term mitigations.
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5 Conclusion Acknowledged
Para 28
Driving an HGV is a challenging job. It is physically demanding and involves lengthy, anti-social hours. The way in which drivers are treated and the conditions in which they are required to work can exacerbate those pressures. Unless these conditions improve, retention rates will remain low. Post-pandemic pay increases can …
Government Response Summary
The government notes the need for improved standards for HGV drivers, stating that industry must lead the implementation of working practices. They are investing £52.5M in roadside facilities and working with the sector on standards for HGV parking and facilities.
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11 Conclusion Acknowledged
Para 42
HGV drivers need safe and secure places to stop, to rest and to recuperate. Drivers told us that too often the facilities available to them were unfit for purpose. Rest facilities must be improved if more drivers are to remain in the sector.
Government Response Summary
The Government is considering what role standards have to play in driving improvements to driver facilities and encouraging providers to properly maintain and improve their business offerings, including on the areas raised by the Committee.
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23 Conclusion Acknowledged
Para 78
We welcome the steps the Government have taken to get more freight off our roads and on to our railways. We hope this is a process the establishment of Great British Railways will accelerate. The current model which sees freight moved from one end of the country to the other …
Government Response Summary
The Government agrees that more freight should be taken from the road and on to rail and water and is exploring the potential to increase rail freight capacity on the rail network to help reduce carbon emissions from the freight sector.
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25 Conclusion
The introduction of the EU’s new Entry/Exit system later in 2022 threatens to cause further confusion, disruption, and delay at the UK’s border, particularly at the Port of Dover. The Minister stressed that other Departments were primarily responsible for the management of the UK’s borders. We recognise the division of …
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