Information communicated by Member States regarding State aid granted under Commission Regulation (EC) No 68/2001 of 12 January 2001 on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to training aid (Text with EEA relevance)
Date: 2003-12-10
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Scotland, State aid, aid to undertakings, continuing education, control of State aid

C 299/18

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

10.12.2003

Information communicated by Member States regarding State aid granted under Commission
Regulation (EC) No 68/2001 of 12 January 2001 on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the
EC Treaty to training aid

(2003/C 299/07)

(Text with EEA relevance)

Aid No: XT 28/03

Member State: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern
Ireland

Region: Scotland

Title of aid scheme or name of the company receiving an
individual aid: Expansion of Young Large Goods Vehicle
(LGV) Driver Scheme

Legal basis: The Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act
1992

Annual expenditure planned under the scheme or overall
amount of individual aid granted to the company:

The budget allocation is:

2003/2004: GBP 1 million

2004/2005: GBP 1 million

2005/2006: GBP 1 million

Maximum aid intensity: The maximum aid intensity of
general
training costs will not normally exceed 50 % for
large firms and 70 % for SMEs. An additional 5 % will be
given to enterprises in the EU 87(3)(c) assisted areas

Date of implementation: 1 April 2003

Duration of scheme or individual aid award: Until 31
March 2006

Objective of aid: The Young LGV Driver Scheme aims to
address a recognised market failure by providing a structured
training and development programme for young people under
the age of 21 embarking on a driving career in road transport
and distribution. Trainees follow a structured programme of
training leading to the level 2 Scottish Vocational Qualification

(SVQ) or National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) and a
Category ‘C’ Driving Licence with an option to go on to
obtain a C+E licence.

The road transport and distribution sectors currently have a
problem recruiting a sufficient number of LGV drivers, and
suffer from a progressively ageing workforce. The funding of
the expansion of the Young LGV Driver Scheme is a pump-
priming exercise over three years intended to increase the
numbers of young drivers recruited and trained under the
existing scheme. A similar scheme is currently in place in
England.

The form of training provided under this scheme is general
since it provides qualifications — SVQs and NVQs — which
are transferable to other employers and substantially improve
the employee. Employees of different
the employability of
enterprises may avail
the training, and the
themselves of
training and qualifications are recognised and certified by the
and
Scottish Qualifications Authority,
Curriculum Authority, the United Kingdom Department for
Education and Skills, and the United Kingdom Department
for Transport

the Qualifications

Economic sector(s) concerned: Transport Services
scheme is open to any lorry operator)

(the

Name and address of the granting authority:

Scottish Executive Development Department

Contact:

David Eaglesham
Scottish Executive Development Department
Freight and Inland Waterways Branch
Victoria Quay
Edinburgh EH6 6QQ
United Kingdom
E-mail: david.eaglesham@scotland.gsi.gov.uk
Tel. (44-131) 244 08 68
Fax (44-131) 244 08 71