UK truck stops receive funding to improve services

Government announces £100m funding to improve truck stop facilities

On 24th November the UK government announced a £100m package to improve HGV/truck facilities.

Service station grant scheme

Part of this funding will be used to open a grant scheme worth £32.5m to improve HGV/truck driver facilities (this is on top of the £20m match-funding launched earlier this year). Service stations and truck stops can now apply for funds. These funds will be used to improve existing truck stop and service station facilities such as toilets and showers.

The Road Haulage Association (RHA) has said that they are extremely happy that service stations can apply for grants to improve their truck stop services as the standard of facilities at many truck stops is poor. This funding will hopefully lead to an improvement in facilities at existing truck stops leading to a better experience for HGV drivers.

Road Haulage Association wants more truck stops to be built

Whilst the RHA has welcomed this funding. They believe that government ministers need to do more to ensure that more new truck stop services are built across the UK. The Managing Director of the RHA has said that the UK needs an additional 11,000 secure lorry spaces. The RHA says that thousands of overnight HGV drivers are unable to find safe and secure parking.

What will the remaining funding be used for?

The remainder of the funding will be used to help the government implement its 33 actions to address the shortage of HGV drivers. These 33 actions are categorised into key areas which include:

• Improving supply chain efficiency
• Improving support and training for new HGV drivers
• Increasing HGV driver testing capacity and licensing processes
• Encouraging existing HGV drivers to return to the sector
• Ensuring the stability of the HGV fuel supply chain

If you would like to find out more about the 33 actions please visit the government website.

How can we help?

Hawsons has a dedicated team of specialist transport and logistics accountants in Sheffield, Doncaster, and Northampton.

We act for a large number of clients in this sector across our three offices, ranging from hauliers to international couriers, and understand the challenges this dynamic sector faces.

Nearly every other commercial sector is reliant on the services transport and logistic businesses provide and, in many ways, this specialist sector is the linchpin for our country’s economy.

With our experience in the transport and logistics sector, we are able to develop a close understanding of your business and, through active year-round involvement, we can help you anticipate and deal with challenges quickly and effectively.