The UK Independence Party has unveiled a policy it believes could help tackle the shortage of lorry drivers in Britain.

According to Jill Seymour, the requirement for hauliers to hold a Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC) is leading to thousands of drivers quitting their jobs. As a result, she wants to see the CPC scrapped, in order to encourage skilled employees to stay in their current roles.

"The Freight Transport Association believes more than 20,000 drivers have quit in the past six months, leaving the country with a serious shortage of delivery drivers," Ms Seymour commented.

"And unless the situation is urgently addressed, it could start to hit the food chain to such a degree that, in the worst case scenario, may even lead to empty shelves on our supermarkets."

Ms Seymour believes the fact drivers in the UK have to obtain a CPC in order to get behind the wheel is another "classic case" of the European Union "meddling in our affairs".

She insisted that the UK's haulage sector had been operating in a safe and efficient manner before this rule was put in place, while the testing regime had been effective. However, she said the requirement to hold a CPC is one of many "needless directives" being imposed on Britain by the EU, to the detriment of the national economy.

Lorry drivers must undergo an extra 35 hours of training in order to obtain the certification, which Ukip believes it costing them hundreds of pounds.

The Road Haulage Association (RHA) recently acknowledged that there is "considerable scepticism" within the industry itself regarding the value of the Driver DPC. Indeed, director of policy Jack Semple said this uncertainty exists among everyone from drivers and managers to company owners.

However, he said this is "unsurprising", given that a mandatory post-qualification training regime has not previously existed in the industry. Nevertheless, Mr Semple believes a growing number of companies are finding out that taking the time to analyse driver training needs is good for their balance sheets. 

He said more and more firms are structuring Driver CPC courses accordingly and realising they are "delivering business benefit well in excess of cost".

"We expect that trend to develop and we want to encourage knowledge and confidence in what DCPC can deliver," Mr Semple commented.

He went on to state that well-presented courses are going down particularly well both with drivers and their bosses. This, he noted, has been apparent regardless of whether the training is being led by a third party or done in-house.

"It is clear that Driver CP, which is a form of continuing professional development, is here to stay," Mr Semple continued.

However, he accepted that it is not yet perfect and said the RHA will be working with its members and the government to "make it work better for the industry".

A study published last year by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency and Joint Approvals Unit for Periodic Training found that 90 per cent of audits into the quality of training for Driver CPC did not identify any serious non-compliance.

Mr Semple believes this is a clear sign that Driver CPC training is "generally on the right track". Nevertheless, he accepted this still means there is room for improvement, but stressed the overall figure means there is currently a "strong platform for development".

"It is clear that the mainstream haulage industry has not only come to terms with the requirements, but is becoming increasingly positive towards it – this report will give added confidence,” Mr Semple said.