Freight Transport Group Urges Pre-Brexit Amendment Study on Driver CPC Training

UK – Despite the uncertainty, Brexit may offer a chance to rationalise certain items before the major changes come into force. Nowhere is this going to have a more fundamental effect than in the logistics industry and now the Freight Transport Association (FTA) has issued a plea to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVSA) to use this unique opportunity in its revision of the Driver CPC training programme, necessary as part of the EU-mandated changes to the legislation covering the qualification.

As the situation stands, all established European law in operation on 23 March 2019 will be adopted into domestic legislation. As of now, European law states that the changes to Driver CPC qualifications will be implemented after 23 May 2020, and the UK government has given no indication that the qualifications will be scrapped after Brexit. The FTA wants the DVSA to thoroughly review the proposed amendments as the changes, which must be made in domestic law within the next two years, are the first steps to amend the legislation covering the driver CPC which must be completed by 2020. James Firth, FTA’s Head of Road Freight Regulation, explains:

“The FTA has already made huge efforts to preserve the flexibility in Driver CPC training to ensure that it is tailored to the specific needs of drivers and operators, and we are confident that the impact of the changes to be implemented at this point will be limited. However, the DVSA should be looking at all elements of the qualification and methods of implementation to ensure that they are fit for purpose, opportunities to tighten or amend legislation do not come around every day.

“Parliamentary time may be more precious than ever at the moment, but the UK’s logistics sector needs to be certain that the qualifications it needs to uphold are as up to date and appropriate as possible. DVSA must reassure the logistics sector that the CPC is future-proofed.

“The FTA proposed that the DVSA undertook a thorough review of Driver CPC implementation in 2013 but was told that such a review would have to wait until the expected review of the European directive. That time is now upon us, and we are urging DVSA to take the opportunity to undertake a thorough review of such important legislation, to ensure that it is suitable and fit for purpose for today’s modern logistics industry.”