Last month, the RHA has a meeting with the Department for Transport. Present in the meeting was RHA chief executive Richard Burnett, Transport Secretary Chris Grayling and Transport Minister Jesse Norman. The meeting was focusing on discussing the skills shortage in the haulage sector as well as talks of a post-Brexit Land Transport Agreement and the lack of lorry parking.
Burnett spoke about the need to tackle the issue of HGV driver shortages, explaining that having government support for the Road to Logistics initiative would benefit both the industry and the economy. “If we are going to help you, you need to help us,” said Burnett, “Give us the seed funding and we’ll do the rest. This isn’t about people lining their pockets, it’s about being faced with a problem, tackling it head on and coming up with a solution.
The RHA also raised questions around having a Land Transport Agreement that can be employed post-Brexit. This would allow UK hauliers to continue to benefit from unlimited access through EU member states, meaning that EU safety rules would still apply – therefore EU safety rules such as drivers’ hours and vehicle standards would still remain.
“Yesterday’s meeting clearly demonstrates the excellent relationship that we have with the Department for Transport and bearing in mind the range of issues that we cover on a day to day basis this benefits the industry and our members,” said Burnett.
