Improve facilities for HGV drivers or face new tax, MPs tell freight sector

Logistics industry must get house in order' within two years to curb driver shortage caused by Covid and Brexit

The road haulage industry should be given a two-year deadline to upgrade facilities for lorry drivers, with clean showers, healthy food and spaces for female drivers, or face a new tax, ministers have been told.

On Wednesday, a cross-party group of MPs called for the logistics industry to get its house in order" by improving overnight facilities for drivers and providing new training routes to recruit more truckers from diverse backgrounds. It comes as the sector struggles with a lack of heavy goods vehicle (HGV) drivers, leading to regular fuel shortages at petrol pumps and empty shelves in supermarkets.