Kent County Council’s (KCC) ban on lorry parking in laybys across several areas of Kent contravenes the working rights of logistics workers, according to Logistics UK. In a letter to Rachel Maclean MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at Department for Transport (DfT), the business group has expressed its strong objections to the plan, which prevents lorry parking for more than 45 minutes at a time in laybys across several areas of Kent. Heidi Skinner, Policy Manager for South at Logistics UK, comments:
“Lorry drivers were deemed “essential” workers during the pandemic, but it seems that this has been forgotten in this latest directive. Logistics UK is urging the DfT to consider the welfare of these drivers – who work tirelessly to transport the goods and services the nation needs – and withdraw support for KCC’s order banning HGV parking in laybys across several of Kent’s boroughs and districts. Lorry drivers need access to parking spaces to rest – for both their welfare and to meet legally mandated rest periods from driving – but with a shortage of between 1,000 and 1,200 HGV parking spaces in Kent, it is unacceptable to prohibit the use of laybys for drivers without providing facilities elsewhere.
“The ban was a temporary measure principally to ensure that HGVs were not parking in laybys while awaiting the correct paperwork to enter the EU. Now, following the removal of the Kent Access Permit (KAP) – which was successful in deterring hauliers entering Kent without the correct paperwork – there is no reason to keep the ban in place. Following the removal of the KAP and taking into consideration the lack of lorry parking facilities in Kent, it is unacceptable for KCC and DfT to continue this traffic order.”
Logistics UK is one of the UK’s leading business groups, representing logistics businesses which are vital to keeping the UK trading, and more than seven million people directly employed in the making, selling and moving of goods. With COVID-19, Brexit, new technology and other disruptive forces driving change in the way goods move across borders and through the supply chain, logistics has never been more important to UK plc. Logistics UK supports, shapes and stands up for safe and efficient logistics, and is the only business group which represents the whole industry, with members from the road, rail, sea and air industries, as well as the buyers of freight services such as retailers and manufacturers whose businesses depend on the efficient movement of goods. For more information about the organisation and its work, including its ground-breaking research into the impacts of COVID-19 on the whole supply chain, please visit logistics.org.uk
