Recovery Members Update 25th March 2011

Welcome to RHA Recovery Member Update!

I have deliberately held back this month’s newsletter to take in news from Chancellor Osborne’s Budget this week.

The Budget

I am a member of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Freight Transport and our group, under the chairmanship of Rob Flello MP, has been lobbying government on spiralling fuel costs and Rob has even had the opportunity to question the Prime Minister in PM Questions recently. Incidentally, the RHA were asked to help Rob form his question, so we clearly are ‘in at the sharp end’ so to speak.

I know that Rob Flello will be disappointed that the Chancellor has not been able to do more to help motorists and in particular hauliers and recovery operators in his budget. It costs around £650 to fill the tank of an average HGV and I am told that at least two more ‘fills’ are required in the course of a week – so it highlights the grave concerns that RHA have on this subject – livelihoods are at stake.

Chancellor Osborne was far more radical in opposition regarding fuel escalators but he seems to have taken a more modest view in office. The delay of the fuel duty rise is helpful and the cut of one penny per litre also, but lobbyists and experts were hoping for more.

The rise in VAT put three pence on the cost of a litre of fuel and this concession still leaves us worse off. We were hoping that the Chancellor might have done more in a constructive way to ease the pain for hauliers by way of a fuel escalator for hauliers and operators but this is another missed opportunity.

Police Vetting

Intrusive questioning in relation to potential police contracts is still an issue. It is important for members to draw our attention to any issues you might have regarding contracts. I have written to the Procurement Unit at Derbyshire Constabulary and am awaiting a reply.

Heavy Rescue Partnership

The Heavy Rescue Partnership was allowed to make a presentation in the Minister of Transport for Roads this month at the APPG meeting. Stuart Smith, a trustee, made a good case for rolling the system out across the country. The Minister, himself a former fireman, was very interested and has asked the trustees of the HRP to submit proposals to him.

Tow Show 2011

The Professional Recovery Tow Show has made progress and Paul Gregory, show director, says that several sponsors have already come forward. The show will be held on Friday and Saturday, 30 September and 1 October and is open to all to visit. You don’t have to be a company owner to visit the show, please come along and bring your family, there will be something for all – even for the kids with Towby the show mascot making a personal appearance. If you want to keep abreast of what is happening with the show, visit:www.recoverytowshow.com.

ERRI

The ERRI committee are seeking a meeting with Transport for London to discuss the LLEZ and other related issues to vehicle recovery in the capital.

Membership Directory

Attempts are being made to produce a Directory of Membership for RHA Recovery members. It is probably going to be produced in electronic format with disks being supplied to members. Isuzu will remain the sponsor of the Directory.

New Members

Two new companies have received applications forms this month.

Freight Transport APPG

I travelled to London for the Freight Transport APPG. Minister of Transport for Roads, Mike Penning MP, was in attendance and took a great interest in the subject of Motor Insurers Database. There are some emotive issues revolving round MID and there is a strong possibility that operators could lose out, particularly with reference to storage costs. Geoff Dunning, the CEO of RHA was in attendance and highlighted his concerns in this area. He pointed out that any movements regards MID should be with the full agreement of recovery operators. Alec Robb of the SVRA made a similar point.

The Insurance Forum with the support of the ABI have provided a working document on MID and further discussions involving recovery operators on the APPG will take place before any submissions are made to government.

Contact me

As you can see from this month’s newsletter, there has been a lot going on again. If you have any concerns and need advice or support, please do not hesitate in contacting me, I might not have all the answers but at RHA we have the infrastructure to give you an informed response.

We are still very much looking for new members. The benefits of RHA Recovery membership are stronger than most other trade associations because we are part of the massive Road Haulage Association infrastructure. We also have the RHA Rescue benefit where members will be invited to join that organisation which will open up other work opportunities. Over 100,000 HGV’s are part of RHA Rescue and our members have exclusive opportunities to tap into that work source.

 If you are interested in joining RHA Recovery or would like information on what we can offer, please contact us at our Peterborough office. Janice Wadsworth will deal with your enquiry, she can be contacted on 01733 261131. Alternately you can call me direct, my mobile number is 07976 829927.