Decision due on government’s consultation on tanker capacity

After a rocky couple of years for the UK haulage sector, the government now seems to be putting in a concerted effort to help make life easier for logistics businesses, having embarked on a programme of supply chain improvement. That’s probably great news if you’re one of our many customers in the haulage sector, particularly if you’ve been looking at optimising your own supply chain processes to minimise fuel theft. 

One of the major governments moves in recent months has been a consultation on tanker capacity, which opened in April and closed in May – which means some initial findings are due any day now. Let’s take a quick recap of where we’re at.  

What’s happening?

In line with the government’s mission to bolster the security of national supply chains, the proposals aim to secure the supply of fuel to UK forecourts and depots, without requiring larger tankers on roads. Essentially, if the proposals go through, it means that fuel tankers could be allowed to carry the maximum amount of fuel, which they’re currently prevented from doing because of the law around weight limits. 

To explain a little further, tankers are limited to a 44-tonne weight limit, which means that they’re not able to fill themselves to full capacity (as this would exceed this limit). The Department for Transport is looking at exempting tankers from adhering to this strict restriction, which would allow them to operate to their full design weight. It’s estimated that this could increase the efficiency of the fuel supply chain by about 6% - a not-insignificant figure.

However, any increase in fuel capacity would only apply to fuel tankers with the appropriate safety features, such as functionality that ensures vehicle stability, and advanced emergency braking systems. Tankers at full capacity would also have to follow routes that are agreed upon in advance.

Where are we now?

This consultation follows 33 actions that have already been taken by the government to tackle the HGV driver shortage, and shore up the UK supply chain. Amongst these initiatives, it’s made 11,000 driver training places available through Skills Bootcamps, and ensured that a substantially greater number of HGV driving tests have been made available too. In addition, £52.5 million has been invested in roadside facilities and lorry parking.  

Encouragingly, there are already signs that this investment has started to pay off. For starters, candidates are now taking and passing their HGV driving tests in record numbers – between March 2022 and May 2022, the DVSA carried out about 29,400 tests. That’s about 54% more than the same period in 2019.

Meanwhile, the consultation on tanker capacity was launched in April, and finished on the 17th of May. A summary of responses, including the next steps, will be published within three months of the consultation closing – which means that we should be seeing some results any day now.

While we hang on for those, though, if you’re preparing to make changes to your own fleet in 2023, there are few better investments than fuel security devices like those we supply here at TankSafe.

First and foremost amongst reliable range of fuel protection devices is TankSafe Optimum – an anti-siphon device which we’ve specifically designed to provide 100% protection, so you can have peace of mind against fuel spills, overfilling, and skimming. You can find out more on its dedicated page on our website, or find out answers to some of the most common questions over on our FAQs page. If you’ve still got queries, our experts will be happy to resolve them - fee free to give us a quick call on 01253 400 401, and we’ll be happy to help however we can!