Toby Perkins MP visited the Road Haulage Association (RHA) event in Parliament to celebrate our industry and discussed issues currently facing the logistics sector both nationally and locally in Chesterfield and Staveley.

Toby joined cross-party MPs and Peers to sign the RHA pledge which urged the government to take action to improve rest facilities and ensure adequate parking for HGV drivers, alongside pursuing short- and long-term solutions to resolve the HGV driver shortage.

Toby stated “I am pleased to show my support for HGV drivers and road haulage firms during National Lorry Week. The recent crisis has demonstrated just how we rely upon them to keep our country running”.

He added “Many of my constituents have been in touch about their concerns as food supplies have often run low and there are fears ahead of Christmas. It is essential that the government get a grip on this crisis and meet with the road haulage industry, training providers, affected business groups and transport unions to ensure that there are immediate and long-term plans in place.”

Prior to the pandemic, UK road transport businesses employed approximately 600,000 HGV drivers and contributed an average of over £13 Billion a year to the UK economy.

Over the course of the last eighteen months the logistics industry has faced many challenges including a fall in the number of qualified drivers exacerbated by the loss of over a year of driver training and testing, the departure of a significant number of EU drivers and increased industry pressures brought on by COVID-19. There is now a deficit of 100,000 HGV drivers in the UK and supply chains are feeling the pressure.