Thank you for contacting me about road haulage and the impact of the coronavirus outbreak.
I appreciate your concerns and as a Transport Minister and someone who, before politics, was a heavy user of road haulage (I used to import and wholesale fruit and vegetables) I recognise that the present situation is causing real difficulties for the sector. I also understand that the sector has a vital role to play in the national effort to combat the spread of the disease.
As the virus has hit the sector a range of measures have been put in place to offer some support. For example, drivers’ hours rules have been relaxed as an exceptional contingency measure, as outlined in Government guidance, to enable journeys to be undertaken which are necessary to protect people's health and lives and qualification requirements for the Driver CPC have been amended so that drivers in Great Britain whose DQC expires in the period from 1st March 2020 to 30th September 2020 can continue driving.
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