§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Mr. David Jamieson)On Wednesday 17 March my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that the Department for Transport would be allocating resources to allow the more worthwhile road haulage modernisation fund (RHMF) projects to continue.
I am pleased to announce today that the Department will be allocating a budget of £3 million in 2004–05 so that more of the haulage industry can benefit from projects to help them apply the most up to date and efficient practices. The budget will also allow the completion of some projects started during the current financial year.
The list of projects includes:
- (a) A further phase of the Driver Training programme to promote Safe and Fuel Efficient Driving (SAFED).
- (b) A further phase of the Fuel Economy Advisor programme to encourage more fuel efficient operations, using regional seminars and site specific advice.
- (c) A further phase of training using the truck driver simulator—more drivers will benefit from simulator training followed by a study to understand better the medium term benefits of simulator training.
- (d) A further phase of the Respect for People project—to consolidate industry take-up of this project, which spreads best employment practice by encouraging the use of key performance indicators so that operators can benchmark their performance against the best companies.
- (e) The development of a careers website—to raise the industry's profile and draw attention to its opportunities.
In addition, the Department will provide funding to complete the training of 1,200 existing candidates for licence acquisition, with over half of these being funded through to achievement of their Logistics Skills Award. We are also considering proposals made through the Road Haulage Forum to fund some research projects to help understand recruitment and training needs and how they can be met.
This programme reflects the Government's commitment to help the industry to help itself. I look forward to discussing this programme with industry stakeholders at the next meeting of the Road Haulage Forum.