Grant Shapps has launched a consultation to address lorry driver shortages caused by a lack of EU workers following Brexit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To address driver shortages, the Transport Secretary will launch a consultation on Friday on whether to lift the ban on motorists driving anything larger than a 3.5-ton vehicle. The EU imposed the ban prior to Britain’s departure from the bloc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“It has been suggested that now that the UK has left the European Union, we may wish to allow all car drivers – not just those who passed their test before January 1, 1997 – the right to drive these larger vehicles without the need for a further test,” the Transport Secretary wrote in a letter to MPs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said that changes to the licencing categories could result in a larger pool of drivers. “I am quite happy to explore this idea and how this may work in reality \u2013 without making any commitments to legislative change at this stage.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“We are past the days when EU directives were handed down on stone tablets,” a government source said, “and we should be prepared to liberalise where we can, testing the necessity of maintaining driving restrictions that were once thought unnecessary in this country.”<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Grant Shapps has launched a consultation to address lorry driver shortages caused by a lack of EU workers following Brexit. To address driver shortages, the Transport Secretary will launch a … <\/p>\n