Home News Features Compliance

馃晵 Article read time: 2 minutes

Department for Transport (DfT) issues proposals for reform of Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (DCPC)


Logistics UK is pleased that that the DfT has issued its response to the consultation on reform of the DCPC qualification that anticipates significant changes to the way vocational drivers receive periodic training through their careers.

Logistics UK responded positively to the consultation, highlighting the benefits that new flexibilities in the provision of training could have on vocational drivers, whilst offering negative opinions against specific proposals contained within the document.  

Having considered the responses from the consultation that closed in April 2023 the government has decided that the DCPC would benefit from reforms to increase flexibility when renewing and regaining the qualification. To do this the government will: 

  • Introduce a new National DCPC for drivers who do not drive internationally. 

  • Reform training by reducing the minimum course length from 7 hours down to 3.5 hours. 

  • Decouple e-learning from trainer-led courses. 

  • Develop with the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) more core course content and encourage informal assessment at the end of modules. 

Whilst Logistics UK welcomes part of the proposals, the business group and its members remain opposed to the decision by DfT to consult further on introducing a new periodic test as an alternative to 35 hours of periodic training. Logistics UK is concerned about this measure and will continue to argue against removing the requirement for periodic training. During the consultation, Logistics UK raised the issue of a negative impact on road safety should all mandated training be removed, especially if the justification given was to ease cost pressures for drivers and operators. 

It is hoped that the required secondary legislation will be laid down in Parliament in the spring of 2024, with the aim of having the new regime in place for August 2024, in advance of the next five yearly cycle for HGV drivers. This is, of course, dependant on the timing of the general election that the Prime Minister has confirmed will take place in 2024. If there is an early election, around May or June, these legislative proposals could fall and therefore not take place.  

Some of the other proposals contained in the consultation, e.g. removal of requirement to carry a Driver Qualification Card, have not been advanced in this response as they will require primary legislation and therefore need more Parliamentary time. 

The full DfT response can be found here and Logistics UK will continue to monitor this issue as it progresses. 

Published On: 11/01/2024 14:00:00

 

Comments Section

If you are a Logistics UK member login to add comments.

There are no comments yet.



Latest articles

Incoming Transport Minister Heidi Alexander must prioritise logistics to support growth, says Logistics UK CEO

Following the resignation of Transport Secretary Louise Haigh MP, Logistics UK, one of the UK鈥檚 biggest business groups and the only organisation which represents all of logistics, says the incoming Secretary of State, Heidi Alexander MP, must seize the opportunity to drive Labour鈥檚 growth mission by prioritising logistics and acknowledging its foundational role in the economy.

Read time: 2 minutes

View article

Out and About & In the Mix

A snapshot of where the Logistics UK policy team have been and who they've seen in the past week.

Read time: 2 minutes

View article

Flying Scotsmen?

Transport Scotland鈥檚 National Speed Management Review Consultation could see the speed limit for HGVs on single track roads raised to 50 mph.

Read time: 2 minutes

View article

Next page

Generation Logistics case study: Tom Haskayne, Stock & Systems Manager, ASDA

E-news archive

You can also view our e-news archive here.

E-news archive

Interested in Membership?

Get in contact using the Membership Enquiry Form.

Membership Enquiry Form

Logistics Magazine Portal

The hub for finding relevant and informative features, news & compliance guides from Logistics Magazine

Logistics Magazine Portal Home

Sponsorship Opportunities

Learn more about advertising on the new digital Logistics Magazine, with a variety of advert options to reach 30,000 relevant readers.

Sponsorship Opportunities

Magazine Contents

News

Logistics Magazine will cover all the latest news on stories breaking in the industry, including developments on COVID-19,  Brexit, Clean Air Zones, transport law and decarbonisation.

News

Features

Our frequent features will tackle the broader issues affecting logistics such as the COVID-19 vaccination programme, technology and innovation, the political and economic landscape, global trade and the drive to reduce emissions across all transport modes.

Features

Compliance

Each month we explore a different topic in depth in our popular Compliance section, while each week we will publish answers put to our Member Advice Centre team.

Compliance

View Supplements and Previous Printed Editions

View Supplements and previous printed editions of Logistics Magazine here.

Previous