The government has not made a formal assessment of the impact of the EU Entry/Exit System on freight movements through the short straits as this is an EU system. Hauliers have completed EES checks since October at the short straits portals of Eurotunnel and the Port of Dover. We continue to encourage road transport operators to take the necessary steps to ensure their UK national drivers remain within the Schengen area’s short stay limit for days spent in Europe.

The government knows the importance of freight to our supply chains and to people across the UK. That is why we have supported the Port of Dover and Eurotunnel with £3.5m each in preparing for EES. And earlier this week we announced £20m in funding to further support border infrastructure at the Port of Dover, while continuing to urge pragmatism from our EU partners, while the system beds in.

The multimodal UK freight and logistics sector delivers reliable, resilient and efficient movement of goods to support UK business and the consumer. The government recognised the importance of the sector in our Industrial Strategy (2025). We have recently committed £27 billion through the third Road Investment Strategy (2026-2031), including enhancements to the A66 between Penrith and Scotch Corner benefiting east-west freight across the Pennines, including from North and Irish Sea ports, and the Lower Thames Crossing which will improve journey reliability for freight arriving from the EU, including goods using the “land bridge” to Northern Ireland.

On rail the TransPennine Route Upgrade and East West Rail will bring significant freight efficiency benefits and the Railways Bill includes a duty on Great British Railways, ministers and the Office of Road and Rail to promote rail freight. The draft National Planning Policy Framework (published Dec 2025) requires local planning authorities to give “substantial weight” to the economic benefits of proposals for development where this would support improvements in freight and logistics. At a more granular level we are working with the Kent and Medway Resilience Forum to maintain efficient freight flows via the Short Straits through the development of plans to manage the introduction of new import controls and the implementation of EES at the Port of Dover and Eurotunnel.

No, we have not published this analysis yet, but we will set out further details alongside the next consultation on the Heavy Goods Vehicle regulations.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer of 29 June 2026 to Question 12905.

It is likely that vehicles which can recharge mostly or entirely at their own depot will reach a lower total cost of ownership than diesel first, whereas vehicles which rely more heavily on public charging, for example because they travel further from their depot, will likely take longer to reach total cost of ownership parity. We continue to monitor and refine our analysis as evidence becomes available.

Our projections are based on Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) modelling for HGVs. This takes into account a range of future costs of vehicles including upfront costs, fuel/energy costs, maintenance costs and infrastructure costs for a typical ownership period. The modelling of vehicle prices and costs utilises evidence from a Heavy Duty Vehicle Cost and Performance model developed by Ricardo for Department for Transport. Fuel energy prices are taken from DESNZ guidance on electricity and fuel prices.

Similar findings on TCO is seen in other published analysis including:-

• ICCT 2023 A total cost of ownership comparison of truck decarbonisation pathways in Europe (ID-54-–-EU-HDV-TCO_paper_final2.pdf),

• Element Energy (2022) Battery electric HGV adoption in the UK: barriers and opportunities (Truck charging and TCO study)

• Bloomberg (2024), Zero Emission Commercial Vehicles The Time Is Now (link here Zero-Emission Commercial Vehicles: The Time Is Now).

Work to date has been conducted within departmental staff time.

Since 1 January 2026, I have considered the planned publication of the freight plan in the context of wider departmental priorities and the Middle East crisis.

In May 2026, I took the decision not to publish the freight plan before summer to ensure the plan reflects emerging priorities, including freight system resilience, economic growth and decarbonisation. The Department intends to revisit the position in early autumn 2026, including a revised timetable to publication.

The department has undertaken a study to improve our understanding of the effects of the 90-in-180-day Schengen immigration limit and planning for the European Union’s Entry/Exit System (EES) implementation on commercial vehicle operators. We intend to publish the report by the end of Summer.

The government is committed to supporting a strong and resilient freight and logistics sector that enables economic growth across the UK. My department is working closely with industry and the Freight Council to develop a new freight plan which reflects the sector’s priorities and delivers tangible outcomes.

In May 2026, I took the decision not to publish the freight plan before the summer to ensure the focus and narrative of the plan reflects emerging priorities, including freight system resilience, economic growth and decarbonisation. The department intends to revisit the position in early autumn 2026, including a revised timetable to publication.

Government is reducing the cost of zero emission vehicles and associated infrastructure required to support the transition to zero emission through grants like the Depot Charging Scheme and Zero Emission Truck Grant. This support is expected to bring the total cost of ownership in line for many use cases, presenting potential cost savings for businesses looking to make the switch. The total cost of ownership for EVs is expected to fall over time as vehicle prices decline, and battery energy density improves. As these trends continue, battery‑electric Heavy Goods Vehicles are projected to become cheaper to operate than diesel across many duty cycles and under different use cases without support from the Zero Emission Truck Grant and Depot Charging Scheme.

The total cost of ownership is expected to fall over time as vehicle prices decline and battery energy density improves. As these trends continue, battery electric HGVs are projected to become cheaper to operate than diesel across many duty cycles, strengthening the commercial case for transition while also reducing greenhouse gas emissions, cutting harmful air pollution, improving public health and protecting the natural environment.

The government is reducing the cost of zero emission vehicles and associated infrastructure required to support the transition to zero emission through grants like the Depot Charging Scheme and Zero Emission Truck Grant.

The total cost of ownership is expected to fall over time as vehicle prices decline, and battery energy density improves. As these trends continue, battery‑electric Heavy Goods Vehicles are projected to become cheaper to operate than diesel across many duty cycles and under different use cases. This strengthens the commercial case for transition while also reducing greenhouse gas emissions, cutting harmful air pollution, improving public health and protecting the natural environment. There is uncertainty in the estimates of costs, and the exact timing of parity will depend on type of HGV and use case and speed of cost reduction of various elements of the cost. We continue to monitor and refine our analysis as evidence becomes available.

We will conduct a full review of all aspects of any final proposal for regulation.

The Government recognises the significant economic and environmental potential of rail freight. GBR will therefore have a statutory duty to have regard to any rail freight target set by the Secretary of State or by Scottish Ministers. The Government has committed to the target of at least a 75% growth in rail freight by 2050 and, as a milestone towards that target, more detailed targets for 2040 will be announced shortly.

Discussions on the reciprocal sharing of information relating to transport managers and road haulage operators took place at meetings of the UK–EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement Specialised Committee on Road Transport (SCRT) in 2024 and 2025.

At the 2025 meeting of the SCRT, decisions enabling data sharing were formally adopted by the co-chairs. The minutes of those meetings, the text of the decisions, and the associated explanatory memorandum have been published on GOV.UK.

To implement these arrangements domestically, the UK introduced The European Registers of Road Transport Undertakings (Disclosure of Information) (Amendment) Regulations 2025, which came into force on 1 January 2026.

The department recognises the importance of the relationship between HGV parking availability and freight crime levels. The government undertook a national lorry parking survey in 2022 which identified secure parking as a priority for drivers. This informed the design of the Lorry Parking and Driver Welfare Match Funding Grant Scheme (MFGS).

The department, alongside industry partners, is delivering up to £35.7 million in joint investment via the MFGS to enhance truck stops across England, supporting HGV drivers and improving working conditions. This investment is complemented by up to £30 million from National Highways and industry, targeting upgrades to lorry parking facilities along strategic road networks.

The scheme has helped to fund security investments including CCTV, fencing, lighting, Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) systems and new barriers as well as investment in facilities and parking spaces at lorry parks in 30 counties across England.

A new National Lorry Parking Survey is currently underway to provide up to date evidence on the availability, security and quality of lorry parking in England and by region and will be published in the Autumn.

Crime recording is a matter for the Home Office. Police‑recorded crime data does not separately identify freight crime or its location; therefore, no assessment can be done on the number of incidents at secure lorry parks or analysis of trends over time.

However, the Home Office has conducted a pilot initiative within a small number of police forces, which trialled the use of a hashtag to identify freight-related offences within their crime reporting systems. This approach aimed to improve visibility and tracking of freight crime. The pilot has now finished and data from the forces who participated in the pilot has been requested and we are awaiting their manual return. After the data has been received, an assessment will be made of the effectiveness, and further steps will be considered at that stage along with further discussions with stakeholders as appropriate.

Government's consultation on a New Heavy Goods Vehicle (HGV) CO₂ Emissions Regulatory Framework for the United Kingdom closed on 17 March and explores the potential design of different regulatory frameworks.

When designing the future framework for HGV carbon regulations, we will fully consider the impacts of any regulatory proposals on operators, businesses and the UK economy. A full impact assessment will accompany any final proposal for regulation.

The Government is committed to supporting a strong and resilient freight and logistics sector that enables economic growth across the UK. My Department is working closely with industry and the Freight Council to develop a new freight plan which reflects the sector’s priorities and delivers tangible outcomes.

Given the global context and supply chain pressures facing the sector, we will revisit this position in autumn to ensure the plan remains aligned with wider Government priorities and reflects the sector’s current realities.

There are no plans to commission such an assessment. The department continues to engage stakeholders and consider our approach to potential barriers to the adoption of zero emission commercial vehicles.