To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the cost to (a) individual drivers and (b) the road haulage sector of complying with EU Directive 2003/59/EC.

The previous Administration consulted about the implementation of EU Directive 2003/59/EC, which, by introducing a qualification and continued periodic training, aimed to improve the professionalism of lorry and bus drivers. The Directive was implemented by the previous Administration based on an initial qualification by theoretical and practical driving tests which assessed competence. Annual costs to the haulage industry, associated with drivers undertaking initial qualification, were estimated to be around £21 million.

To maintain the Driver Certificate of Professional Competence, drivers are required to undertake 35 hours periodic training every five years. Annual costs to the haulage industry were estimated to be around £109 million.

We expect those costs to be off-set by social, environmental and cost benefits for road safety, improved fuel consumption, reduced wear and tear on vehicles, and improved journey times as a consequence of adoption of the Directive. Fuel savings of around £385 million were estimated for the haulage industry.

In 2013, Ministers sought to identify and remove unnecessary burdens for those who drove lorries or buses as an incidental part of their employment. The measures introduced, which removed the requirement for these drivers to obtain an initial qualification or undertake periodic training to maintain the Driver Certificate of Professional Competence, were estimated to have an annual net benefit to UK businesses of around £23 million.