The UK government has signed an agreement with the British Vehicle Rental & Leasing Association (BVRLA) to act as an agreed partner to monitor and assess compliance against its Rental Vehicle Security Scheme.
The voluntary initiative, launched in December 2018, was introduced by the Department for Transport to help mitigate the risk of vehicle terrorism following a spate of attacks in 2017 where vehicles were used as weapons.
By incorporating the scheme’s requirements into the BVRLA’s required Code of Conduct as of 1 January 2020, its 455 rental and commercial vehicle member organisations are now automatically part of the scheme, too.
In its 2018 National Counter-Terrorism Strategy, the UK government outlined its promise to work with vehicle rental sector on policies to improve counter-terrorism security. During the past two years, the BVRLA has led the sector’s response.
Monitoring compliance with the scheme will form part of the association’s existing governance programme, which involves a robust inspection regime to ensure that members follow the BVRLA Code of Conduct. It is a mandatory requirement for membership.
BVRLA chief executive Gerry Keaney said: “The BVRLA and its members have always taken security matters seriously and we do not take lightly the trust that the government is placing upon the BVRLA by agreeing for us to act as an approved partner to help implement its Rental Vehicle Security Scheme.
“By making this part of our mandatory Code of Conduct, we are taking an industry-led approach, and although it will not be a complete panacea, the scheme will go some way towards further strengthening a culture of security vigilance across the sector and our members support that.
“We will continue to work with government and law enforcement to explore more opportunities to further counter the threat of terrorism.”
