HGV drivers are the often-unsung heroes of our lives, dutifully carrying much-needed goods to shops, businesses and customers up and down the land. As such, they’re also crucial in allowing local UK councils to deliver important services, whether talking about refuse collection or renewables services, their services are in high demand. 

However, along with everyone else, these local authorities have recently been struggling to source trained drivers, which is an issue, as they simply don’t have the resources to train the drivers they need in-house. It’s a nationwide issue and one that the Insite team and many others have been fighting against since the crisis began. 

30,000 Drop in HGV Driver Numbers in 2022 Q1

The industry and government have taken numerous steps to address the situation in the UK, but the chronic shortage is still ongoing. This can be seen in the latest Logistics UK figures that show the number of active HGV drivers dropped in Q1 of 2022 by a staggering 30,000, meaning there aren’t enough drivers to go around. 

Encouragement can be taken from the fact that the figure is lower compared to Q3 & Q4 of 2021, which saw respective drops of 44,000 and 49,000. That said, it will come as little consolation to those councils that have had to cancel garden waste collections – with some not being able to meet this need for the whole Summer. 

Insite – Providing a Solution to The Problem

When attempting to address the issue on their own, local councils are hamstrung by both the logistical complexity and financial cost of training new drivers. The funds required for premises, lorries and instructors can be significant, and with no experience in managing training courses, the process becomes too drawn out to be effective. 

The solution lies in the fully managed HGV driver training offered by Insite, which centralises the process, and takes care of trainees through the whole journey, from the medical exam to the test itself. This allows for faster driver training, helping mitigate the pressures council service providers face, as well as reduce the cost. 

Appointed by 4 Local Councils Already 

This is no theoretical claim or promise, however, as we’ve already been appointed to provide HGV licence acquisition programs by 4 local councils. Adur & Worthing, Eastleigh, Worcester City & Brighton & Hove City councils have instructed us to provide novice-class 2 skills Bootcamp training to over 20 drivers in the next few months. 

These government-funded Bootcamps (run as part of our leadership of the Driver Academy Group) represent the perfect option for councils, as they allow existing employees to undertake HGV driver training at a reduced cost. After successfully completing their training, each HGV driver is then promoted to a role within the council they are employed by.

Playing a Major Role In Tacking Driver Shortages

It would be true to say that local councils and businesses are feeling the pinch when it comes to acquiring reliable HGV drivers, but as we’ve seen here, Insite can provide a rather innovative solution to the problem. The Bootcamps we provide are making a real difference and can offer a meaningful difference in tackling the associated issues. However, the fight is far from over, so we’ll continue to deliver industry-leading, scalable HGV driver training via our large UK network of training centres. If you’d like to find out more about the work we do or how we do it, take a moment to view our website or to speak to a member of our team about your precise needs, call us on 0330 818 8888 or simply click on ‘contact us’.

Regular readers of Insite blogs will know the work we’ve been doing to address the UK’s ongoing HGV driver shortage. We’ve covered the lead role we’re playing as part of the Driver Academy Group consortium that also includes Manpower and Logistics UK, with our government-funded HGV Skills Bootcamps proving popular across the country. 

Today, we’re very proud to say our latest data shows that 568 new HGV trainee drivers have either booked or passed their practical test. Launched last year, the initiative was designed to address the growing dearth of qualified drivers and welcomed candidates over the age of 19 with a car licence to apply. 

HGV Skills Bootcamps at 60 Nationwide Locations 

The Skills Bootcamps, which have been made available at 60 nationwide locations, not only help to train students but also assist successful trainees in gaining interviews with employers in their local area. Of the 1,950 drivers currently on the scheme, the figure is a healthy one, with around ⅓ potentially joining the UK’s HGV workforce in the near future. 

Since introducing the scheme alongside our Driver Academy Group partners, we’ve received over 30,000 applicants. This huge demand is also ongoing, with 8,000 further applicants from all around the country sitting on a waiting list to join. The East of England has proven a particularly rich source of new talent, with 17% of the total number being from the region. 

Starting Salaries of Up to £40k For Successful Trainees

Trainees participating in Driver Academy Group Bootcamps are able to gain their Category C license, as well as having the opportunity to be upgraded to the C+E category. It’s also possible to train for specialist licenses such as ADR & PDP licences that allow the owner to drive fuel truck and lorries that transport hazardous goods. 

The popularity of our Bootcamps is perhaps not surprising when you consider the financial and job satisfaction rewards that await those who successfully complete them. Salaries of up to £40k per year are up for grabs, with drivers of specialist vehicles being amongst the highest earners. Our CEO, James Clifford, had this to say:

“As we celebrate National Lorry Week, these numbers indicate a small but significant achievement for the HGV driving industry. Funding has been a major barrier to entry for those looking to train as HGV drivers, especially when they may not get a job at the end of their course.

So, these government-funded Skills Bootcamps are making a big difference in helping to attract people into the industry, getting them trained & into good jobs. With further funding, the 8,000 on our waiting list can help plug the HGV driver shortage and keep the UK’s supply chains moving.”

Making Real Headway Against the HGV Driver Shortage

At Insite, we’re committed to doing our part in addressing the ongoing UK HGV driver shortage, and we’re proud to be seeing results like this already. While the figures may be relatively small at present, they still demonstrate that with the right application and structure, the HGV driver crisis is something that can be overcome. 

Alongside these Bootcamps, we will continue to strive to deliver more qualified drivers for the UK haulage sector through our industry-leading HGV driver training programs that can be scaled to any size of requirement. To find out more about how we do things, take a browse around our website, which tells you everything you need to know. 

Alternatively, if you’d like to speak to us directly about how our driver training can help your business, click on ‘contact us’ or call us on 0330 818 8888 today. 

A government consultation into granting the automatic right to drive lorries up to 7.5 tonnes for car drivers is set to come to a decision by the end of October 2022. While this move is designed to increase the recruitment pool of available drivers for mid-sized vehicles, at HGVC, we believe that taking this drastic step does not represent a wise move.

Allowing effectively untrained people behind the wheel of C1 vehicles (that range between 3.5 & 7 tonnes) would decrease safety on the UK’s roads. From a safety perspective, such a change would lead to a greater number of accidents – something that the statistics absolutely bear out. The industry needs more drivers, but they must be fully qualified.

Accident Statistics Show a Clear Picture

When looking at UK accident statistics, the figures show that C1 vehicles are involved in 23% of goods vehicle road traffic accidents (RTAs). That said, they only make up 7% of the total distance that is covered by goods vehicles with a weight of more than 3.5 tonnes. As such, it would seem that allowing unqualified to legally drive them would be dangerous. 

Relaxing C1 and D1 rules should be seen as unwise on this point alone, although former transport minister, Karl McCartney, had this to say prior to the consultation…

“It is clear that, prior to 1997, new drivers of any age had the freedom to drive a wider variety of vehicles, including cars with trailers. I, the department for transport and government are seeking opinions on reverting to these ‘grandfather rights”.

The Consultation Must Return a ‘No’ Vote, 

However, given that the data shows that C1 vehicle drivers have an increased likelihood of being involved in accidents, simply giving out these rights arbitrarily is an approach that’s fraught with problems. Instead, retesting these drivers can be the only sensible way to tap into this potential resource of new drivers. 

The deadline for the DVSA’s call for evidence is the 28th of October 2022, and we hope that sense prevails, leading to a no vote on the matter. With this in mind, we encourage any operator with drivers of these vehicles to continue to provide them with C1 & D1 training in the interests of maintaining road safety. 

Committed to Improving Safety On Britain’s Roads 

What must be said is that we’re fully behind moves to increase the number of available HGV drivers in the UK, but that shouldn’t come at the expense of people’s lives. That’s what approving this plan would do – something that goes against everything we teach every day to our student drivers learning across our national network of training centres.

As such, Insite will continue to support the industry by providing new HGV drivers through our industry-leading, scalable training programs that can meet the needs of even the biggest organisations. To find out more about how we work, take a few moments to browse through our website. 

Alternatively, to get in touch to talk about your precise needs with us, either click on ‘contact us’ or call our friendly team on 0330 818 8888.

Following the promise made by UK Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng during the recent ‘mini-budget’ statement to repeal IR35 rule changes by April 2023, a leading commercial driving expert – Kieran Smith – has warned that the move could risk the ire of both HMRC and the government’s Transport Commissioner. 

Mr Smith, the chief executive of the Driver Require driver agency, has raised a red flag about the change that will once again permit self-employed drivers operating as limited companies of personal services companies (PSCs) to manage their NIC and tax affairs, whether genuinely self-employed or simply transferring responsibility from the end client or haulier. 

Changes May Be Delayed By the Parliamentary Process 

The warning focuses on the fact that hauliers should refrain from rushing back to using self-employed drivers, as the matter still needs to be debated by both Parliamentary Houses, meaning that delays to their introduction are likely. Speaking on the matter, Mr Smith had this to say:

“This opens it up to substantial risk of challenge, rejection and/or demand for replacement measures and legislation. What’s more, all companies were legally obliged to produce Status Determination Statements (SDS) for each of their worker categories, and they will have made committed statements that their workers fall within or outside the scope of the IR35 regulations.

Unless the working practices and contractual arrangements with these workers are changed substantially, it will be difficult to argue that it is legally reasonable to change their employment status just because the liability has been transferred.”

2019 Transport Commissioner Guidance Needs to Be Considered 

Kieran Smith also went on to say that hauliers still need to heed guidance offered by Senior Transport Commissioner Richard Turfitt in 2019 that it’s rare for any HGV driver to be genuinely self-employed (a contractor with limited company status) unless they themselves an owner-driver.

This guidance was used as part of the Bridgestep (UT/2019/54) public enquiry in 2019, which set a precedent for all future cases. During proceedings, it was established that the use of self-employed drivers in order to cut costs did not spare Bridgestep from liability after a railway bridge had been damaged by a lorry.

He continued: “The long and short of it is that, if an operator suffers an incident that brings them in front of the Traffic Commissioner, the employment status of their drivers will be an important consideration of the judgement process.

If the operator has engaged drivers on a PSC basis, whether permanent or agency, for the purposes of reducing staffing costs, this will lead to a loss of repute and contravention of the Senior Traffic Commissioner’s employment guidance, which will likely result in a harsher judgement and increase the risk of revocation of their O licence and/or disqualification of the transport manager.”

Hence, even if the IR35 reforms are repealed, and the financial liability for payment of correct taxes passes from the haulier back to the PSC driver, it is still not advisable for an operator to engage PSC drivers due to the risk of harsher judgements from a hearing with the Traffic Commissioner, nor are they likely to welcome being pursued by HMRC under the Criminal Finances Act.”

HGVC – Always Supporting the UK Haulage Industry

The warning provided is something that should be heeded by hauliers up and down the country. Whilst the need to operate cost-effectively is of high importance in the current, challenging climate, the measures taken need to be taken for the right reasons and not simply to avoid liability for their vehicles, drivers and their actions. 

At Insite, we continue to offer industry-leading HGV driver training programs that can be scaled to meet any size of requirement. If you would like to know more about our nationwide network of training centres, take a look around our website. Alternatively, to get in touch to discuss your needs, either click on ‘contact us’ or call our team on 0330 818 8888.

After much work has been done in the UK’s HGV industry to reduce its carbon footprint, a new Road Haulage Association (RHA) report has revealed that these efforts have not been in vain. In this report, there is welcome news that NOx emissions from HGVs have dropped by an impressive 72% in the UK since 2013.

The RHAs NOx Emission Assessment for 2022 stated that this fall has been driven largely by hauliers themselves, having invested £2.2bn in Euro-6 trucks during the same period. There also appears to be good news about the future, as RHA modelling show that NOx levels will have dropped by a further 10% by 2025, without restrictive measures being introduced.

Clean Air Zone (CAZ) Policies Targe HGVs Unfairly

Despite this major improvement, the RHA added that CAZ policies still target HGV operators disproportionately. This is evidenced by the fact that in some cases, UK HGV drivers are hit with charges of £100 per day while at the same time only being responsible for a minimal 8% of all NOx roadside emissions. 

As such, the RHA has encouraged the government to adjust the current CAZ framework to allow lorries less than 12 years old to be exempt from charge. MD of the RHA, Richard Smith had this to say on the matter:

“There are still misconceptions about HGVs and our industry’s commitment to adopting cleaner air technologies. We’ve all got a long way to go, but these figures show that we’re making huge strides in reducing harmful emissions from our fleets.

We urge policymakers to recognise this progress and target emissions reduction in fairer and more effective ways.”

Insite – Doing Our Part In Reducing Emissions 

At Insite, we do our part in creating a cleaner, more environmentally-sound haulage industry in the UK. We’re actually the 1st provider to introduce carbon-neutral driver training via our 400+ driver training centres across the UK. It’s something that we’re very proud of and it’s made possible through our partnership with THG More:Trees. 

For every driver training course that is ordered, a new tree is planted as part of our association, offsetting any carbon that’s created from the vehicles during instruction. Averagely speaking, each training course creates 75-90kg of CO2, with 0.3 tonnes being absorbed by each and every tree that is planted through the scheme. We’re confident that we’re actually carbon-negative! 

In addition to eliminating our net carbon emissions, the scheme also helps to tackle deforestation in areas of the work like Haiti, Kenya and Madagascar. As well as protecting future generations from climate change, new healthy forests help to purify water and channel it to farmers and communities who depend on it to survive.

Committed to Protecting the Natural Environment 

We take our commitment to protect the natural environment while supporting the UK haulage industry very seriously and we’re proud to be a trailblazer in this regard. As such, we’ll continue to look for new, cleaner ways to reduce our carbon footprint, in addition to seeking out innovative renewable energy and fuel efficiency solutions.

If you’d like to learn more about us or our industry-leading HGV licence acquisition programs that can be scaled to meet any size of need, please take a moment to look around our website, where you’ll find everything you need to know. Alternatively, should you wish to discuss your specific requirements, either call us on 0330 818 8888 or click on ‘contact us’ today.

The newly-installed Chancellor of the Exchequer, Kwasi Kwarteng, has announced the government’s Growth Plan 2022 as part of what has been dubbed a ‘mini budget‘. In it, there are a number of statements that affect the logistics sector directly, as well as those who are employed in it. Here is a summary of what was covered.

Changes to IR35 Rules

From the 6th of April 2023, current IR35 rules that pertain to public and private sector off-payroll employment will be repealed. This means that from that date, UK workers providing their services via a personal service company or other intermediaries will once again have responsibility for determining their own employment status, tax and NICs. 

Since the current IR35 rules were introduced, companies that employed agency drivers needed to hire them on a PAYE basis. This had driven up costs due to inefficiencies and has been cited as a major contributing factor to the ongoing HGV driver shortage. Statistics show that the number of self-employed drivers dropped significantly during this period. 

Investment Zones to Be Introduced 

The government has also announced the introduction of new Investment Zones with a view to driving growth and unlocking housing through planning liberalisation and tax incentives. It is said that these zones will attract business by providing:

• Enhanced capital allowances
• 100% land tax & stamp duty relief
• 100% relief on business rates
• Employer NI relief

Measures to Mitigate Strike Action 

As has been seen in recent news, strike action at major UK ports has exacerbated existing supply chain issues as workers seek better pay and conditions. As such, the government has included legislation in their Growth Plan that seeks to ensure the minimum disruption. 

As such, this legislation will seek to guarantee minimum service levels for transport services so as to make the settling of industrial disputes that much easier. 

Reducing the Cost of Energy for Businesses

Also included in the Growth Plan is a package of support that reduces the impact of historically-high energy prices on businesses across the UK. In addition to offering savings for residential households, businesses will benefit through the Energy Bill Relief Scheme that caps energy costs in Great Britain for six months. 

Measures Welcomed by Logistics UK 

All the measures introduced are aimed at meeting an economic growth of 2.5% in the medium term, and they have been welcomed by the industry body, Logistics UK. Director of Policy Kate Jennings had this to say:

“Logistics UK welcomes the government’s actions to help address growing business costs, namely energy prices. Additional measures announced today, such as changes to IR35 and National Insurance contributions, will give logistics businesses, including SMEs, welcome flexibility.

Investment zones to support further industrial and commercial developments nationwide are a positive step. Logistics is a growing sector, which already supports many of the ‘levelling up’ regions of the UK. To maximise the potential growth opportunities of these zones, it will be important to include the logistics industry in the delivery of these proposals.

However, there is a missed opportunity on fuel duty. Even with the changes announced this morning, energy – including fuel costs – will be rising to 28% of business costs over the next year. Diesel is the single biggest operating cost for logistics businesses, which drives all sectors of UK PLC. In the six months to 1 July 2022, diesel costs for operators rose by almost 50%”.

A Tough Yet Optimistic Future For UK Haulage?

No one knows for sure what the future holds for the UK’s haulage industry, or indeed for UK commerce as a whole. However, the fact that the government is introducing measures to make it easier for UK hauliers to operate should be welcomed. Could more have been done? Sure, but the concessions provided may point toward a challenging yet optimistic future. 

At Insite, we offer industry-leading HGV licence acquisition programs, and we are continuing to support the UK haulage industry through the instruction we provide via our nationwide network of training centres. Staffed by some of the most experienced trainers in the business, we are well placed to meet your needs, regardless of scale. If you would like to know more about how we operate, you should take a look around our website. There you’ll find lots of helpful information. Alternatively, to speak to us directly about your needs, either call 0330 818 8888 or click on ‘contact us’ and a member of our team will be delighted to help you any way they can.