According to UKIP transport spokesman Jill Seymour, Brexit gives the haulage industry an excellent opportunity to do away with the highly controversial Certificate of Professional Competence (Drivers CPC).
Jill Seymour was recently speaking at a debate about HGV training regulations at the European Parliament in Strasbourg when she said this about the driver CPC:
“It has brought misery and hardship to countless drivers in the United Kingdom and across the continent of Europe, and I have long campaigned against this unnecessary nonsense.”
“The driver CPC is a damaging piece of legislation. Now that the European Commission has declared that it will not recognise British driving qualifications after Brexit – and how short sighted is that? – this surely is an excellent opportunity for Her Majesty’s Government to do the right thing and get shot of the CPC once and for all.”
Mrs Seymour has described the CPC as an expensive and over-complicated system which is causing many HGV and bus drivers to either lose their jobs, or take early retirement.
“The result is a shortage of registered drivers in an industry which is battling hard to get itself back on its feet.
“It is being kicked in the teeth by the EU, which always thinks it knows what’s best for Britain. Hard-working people should not be losing their livelihoods – we see no need for drivers to undertake this unnecessary and expensive course.
“Our traditional driver training course, which has been in place for many years, is a proven system which has served us well. If it ain’t broke, don’t try to fix it.”
The controversial drivers CPC has been seen as a main cause for the HGV driver shortage according to a survey conducted on HGV drivers across the UK. There are many qualified HGV drivers that no longer work in the industry due to the introduction of the CPC and preferred to take early retirement instead.
Could scrapping the CPC help attract and retain drivers?