The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill) (Lab)

My Lords, these regulations will lower the minimum age at which the Office of Rail and Road, ORR, can issue a train driving licence to a person to drive trains on the mainline railway in Great Britain from 20 to 18. Under the regime, applicants will continue to be required to satisfy the same conditions for driving trains contained in the Train Driving Licences and Certificates Regulations 2010, hereafter called the 2010 regulations. These licence conditions will remain unchanged. They include completion of at least nine years of primary and secondary education or vocational training equivalent to level 3 qualifications, and proof of passing medical, psychological fitness and general professional competence examinations. By lowering the minimum age from 20 to 18, these regulations will bring Britain into line with several other countries including Germany, the Netherlands and Australia. They will also be consistent with the London Underground, where professional operating roles can begin at 18. These regulations will not change the minimum age to be a train driver in the Channel Tunnel, which will remain at 20, consistent with our international obligations. I will begin by providing background information on the regulatory framework and the case for lowering the minimum age to be a train driver. The railway network currently depends on approximately 19,000 train drivers. These drivers operate passenger and freight services across the country. The 2010 regulations established the legal conditions required to drive trains on the mainline railway and cover both licences and certificates. A train driving licence confirms that a driver has been medically and psychologically assessed as fit and has passed a general competence examination in train driving. As long as the driver continues to meet these conditions, the licence remains valid for 10 years. Drivers must also hold an employer-issued certificate showing that they are trained and authorised to drive specific trains on specific routes. A driver must hold both documents. The 2010 regulations implemented the EU train driving directive, which sets a default minimum licensing age of 20 across the EU. The directive also allowed member states to adopt a lower age of 18 for domestic services, but the United Kingdom did not choose to do this in 2009. Since then, as I have mentioned, several countries have successfully implemented a lower age limit and others are actively considering it, including Japan. In 2019 the Rail Safety and Standards Board, RSSB, undertook research to look at the case for lowering the minimum age in Britain. It published its findings in February 2024. The RSSB found that 18 and 19 year-olds can drive trains safely and professionally when held to the same training, assessment and supervision standards as older recruits. At the same time, lowering the age limit widens the talent pool, increasing driver numbers and improving representation. The research found that experience, not age, is the determining factor in whether a new entrant to the profession will enjoy a successful career. This experience is gained through practice and exposure to train driving. Experience is a central feature of train driver training and can be gained through a structured training programme. Training and assessment typically take between 12 and 18 months and involve several months of classroom and simulator learning, alongside 225-plus hours of practical train driving. This is followed by mandatory examinations and post-qualification monitoring and assessments. Support for the policy was reaffirmed in a May 2023 post-implementation review, prompting the previous Conservative Government to consult on the proposal. The consultation, published in May 2025, showed broad support from major industry bodies, including ASLEF—the train drivers’ union—and train operators, although some stakeholders sought assurances about transition arrangements. For this reason, on 7 May 2025 my department confirmed that we would move forward with lowering the minimum train driver age, subject to receiving an industry implementation plan that would then determine the timetable for changing the law. The Rail Delivery Group, working through the Train Drivers Academy, co-ordinated the industry’s response, gathering industry specialists to review existing arrangements and identify opportunities to optimise the system. The industry confirmed that existing safeguards, testing and supervision remain appropriate for younger entrants, but recommended that operators update their procedures and ensure staff understand how best to support new trainees. Overall, the implementation plan demonstrated that a lower minimum age for train driving can be introduced safely and without requiring major changes to core safety or competence management systems. The department and the ORR approved the implementation plan in December and published it on GOV.UK on 19 March. The plan proposed several practical improvements that industry will now implement to strengthen recruitment, assessment and training for all new drivers, not just younger applicants. These include fairer and more transparent recruitment processes, clearer information about the role, better support for managers working with younger colleagues, more consistent industry-wide communication, and development of a simple and accessible recruitment portal. To help monitor arrangements, a study is proposed to monitor the progress of younger drivers over time, which will use a small group of pathfinder operators to test, refine and share effective approaches. Taken together, the industry has produced a clear and evidence-based strategy that will help bring younger entrants into the profession safely and confidently. We are confident that these arrangements will be in place by June this year, which is why we have scheduled the legislative change to take effect on 30 June. From that date, young people will be eligible for train driving positions. I turn to the reasons why the Government are bringing forward these regulations and their intended objectives. The rail industry is facing significant skills shortages across several key areas, particularly train driving. Around 25% of the current workforce is expected to reach retirement age by 2030. We project that there will be a deficit of 2,500 train drivers by the end of the decade unless action is taken. In some parts of the country, such as Wales, that figure is closer to 38%. Even in London, where the proportion is lowest, nearly a quarter of drivers will retire within the same period. Without a concerted effort, this presents a retirement cliff edge that risks the industry’s ability to maintain current service levels. Operators are already experiencing difficulties in recruiting new drivers and are too frequently reliant on overtime to sustain timetables. At the same time, there is clear evidence that the rail industry is not yet drawing on the full breadth of talent available. The workforce remains relatively homogenous: the average train driver is 47 years old, fewer than 11% of them are women and fewer than 13% come from minority-ethnic backgrounds. This points to significant untapped potential across the country. Lowering the minimum age of train drivers will not on its own solve driver shortages, and it is still the responsibility of operators to take steps to secure the workforce they need. This change is, however, an important first step and will help the industry to build a more resilient pipeline of drivers by creating a clearer route for school leavers to enter the profession. This is because the current minimum age of 20 has for many years acted as an arbitrary barrier to entry. By that age, many young people have already committed to other employment, vocations or further study. Lowering the minimum age to 18 will allow operators to engage school leavers and offer a clear, structured route into a highly skilled and respected profession. In doing so, it will help the industry respond to the demographic and operational pressures it will face in the coming years.