Overview of the Act
The Haulage Permits and Trailer Registration Act 2018 makes provision to support UK hauliers to continue to operate internationally after the UK leaves the European Union.
	The Act provides the Secretary of State with the powers to introduce administrative systems for haulage permits, which may be needed once the UK has left the EU, and a trailer registration scheme, which is required following the UK’s ratification in March 2018 of the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic1 ("the 1968 Convention") (see the notes on Part 2 below).
	The Secretary of State will be able to make regulations prohibiting the use of a goods vehicle registered in the UK on an international journey specified in the regulations without a permit where such permits are provided for in an international agreement. The regulations will also set out the administrative procedures for the allocation and granting of permits, including the number of permits available, the application process, the criteria to be taken into account in determining the issue of permits, and provisions for cancelling permits. Regulations will also allow the Secretary of State to establish an appeals process for the cancellation of a permit. The Act sets out enforcement provisions, including powers for examiners to require the production of permits and offences for breaching regulations or failing to produce a permit for inspection. The Act includes a power to charge fees for the application for, and the issue of, a permit. The Act requires the Secretary of State to lay a report before Parliament on the effects on the haulage industry where there are a limited number of permits for any EU member state.
	The Act also makes provision for the Secretary of State to establish a trailer registration scheme, in view of the provisions of the 1968 Convention, to ensure that trailers can be registered before entering international traffic. The scope of the scheme will be set out in regulations made under Part 2. The use of commercial trailers (in practice almost exclusively Heavy Goods Vehicle trailers) and the largest non-commercial trailers on journeys to, or through, foreign countries that have ratified the 1968 Convention will be prohibited unless the trailer is registered. Smaller, common non-commercial trailers, such as caravans and horse trailers, may be registered by their keepers if they wish. Part 2 of the Act also requires the Secretary of State to produce a report on trailer safety in Great Britain and for this report to include assessments of whether compulsory registration and periodic testing should be introduced for all trailers in Great Britain that weigh more than 750kg.
	The Act repeals the International Road Haulage Permits Act 1975 and makes new provisions. It also amends other legislation such as the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988, the Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994, the Goods Vehicles (Licensing of Operators) Act 1995 and the Vehicles (Crime) Act 2001, and makes corresponding amendments to legislation in Northern Ireland.