The number of lorry driver licences issued this year is on course to equal or exceed pre-pandemic levels in the latest sign that the shortage of labour is easing. 

Just under 230,000 licences were handed out between January to October, figures released under Freedom of Information laws show. 

The total is just 647 short of the figure for the same period in 2019 and comes after the Driver Vehicle and Licensing  Agency (DVLA) issued 40,169 licences in October alone as part of a push to make up for a pandemic lull. 

Only 220,025 licences were issued last year, with the monthly figure dipping to a low of 6,409 in April as the DVLA was forced to cancel tests during the first national lockdown.

The malaise led industry groups to estimate the shortage of lorry drivers had grown to 100,000, although they also blamed post-Brexit restrictions on freedom of movement and tax changes, and prompted calls for greater access to foreign labour. 

Ministers pushed back, however, arguing that the shortage could be met by increasing testing capacity and enticing more former drivers to go back on the road. They later announced an emergency visa scheme for up to 5,000 drivers from abroad. 

Separately, efforts to tackle the shortage have partly been helped by soaring demand, which has prompted big pay rises for truckers at supermarkets desperate to keep their Christmas plans on course and attracted more recruits. 

Logistics UK said earlier this month that employers were finally starting to see the “green roots” of recovery. 

Grant Shapps, the Transport Secretary, said: “We’ve taken 32 measures so far to tackle the global driver shortage here in the UK and I’m delighted the industry is seeing the green shoots of recovery.

“We’ve ramped up the number of HGV driver tests being carried out and licences issued, with 1,350 more tests currently being made available every week compared to pre-pandemic levels – a significant 90pc increase. 

“Meanwhile the DVLA has processed over 40,000 HGV and vocational licenses in just four weeks, and efforts to encourage people into the sector are bearing fruit, with a significant increase in the number of people requesting application packs for vocational licenses.”

On Friday the first government-funded “boot camps” to train lorry drivers were launched across the UK.

They will last up to 16 weeks and include “novice to HGV” programmes as well as “refreshers” for experienced drivers and licence upgrades for drivers of smaller trucks.

In addition, the Driver Vehicle and Standards Agency said a decision to allow accredited businesses to carry out the off-road portion of HGV driving tests will free up its own staff to carry out hundreds more of the on-road tests per week.