well its been a while but since ive started looking again ive noticed theve dropped some areas i see 7.50 for class 2 then 8.50. to even minum wage and for class one the weekend rate also seems to have fallen so what would you say should be the fair expected hourly rate nowadays■■? i like the way agencys our top earners 
Companies will only offer what they think you’re worth. If you agree with them that you’re only worth £7 per hour then take it, otherwise look elsewhere.
If UK drivers were to decline the jobs offering poverty wages, very quickly these companies will find themselves with a depot full of EE drivers and I think they (and their customers) would not feel so smug. Companies like to use the “threat” of employing EE drivers, but my suspicion would be that they would prefer to employ a UK driver if they can find one daft enough to accept crap wages and conditions. Just my opinion.
Companies will use cheaper drivers, there are posts on here and most of us know that companies who use weekend drivers are now employing such drivers just for weekends and paying min wage or just over.