TruckandTrackSummer2020

Truck and Track Summer 2020 www.truckandtrack.com 66 PORTS The British Ports Association has welcomed news that the UK Government will postpone its plans to introduce full border checks on traffic arriving fromthe EU for sixmonths from2021. This will be done for imports into the UK in three phases until July 2021. Richard Ballantyne, the Chief Executive of the British Ports Association, who represents all the main ferry port gateways including Dover, Holyhead, Immingham and Portsmouth, said: “This is welcome news. Across the board the freight industry has been telling government that it will not be ready. The risk of doing nothing could have led to issues for much of our trade with Europe, including severe congestion at ports. Delays and additional costs for freight operators get passed on and ultimately this sensible and pragmatic decision will mean British manufacturers and consumers are not faced with the increased expenditure, at least until amore formal border operatingmodel is agreed by industry and Government. “Whilst the context of the Coronavirus pandemic means we have lost some time to prepare, the timescales were already challenging so a period of pragmatism will be helpful. There do remain questions about how Northern Irish traffic will be managed. “Government must now speed up its work to agree a new long lasting border operating model which ensures goods continue to flow between the UK and the EU and also between Britain and Northern Ireland.” The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Michael Gove, announced details of the extension which included arrangements for the funding of certain inland borders infrastructure. A new Border Operating Model should be published by July to outline what ports and businesses need to do the prepare. These measures are focussed on EU to Great Britain trade and there remain differences in approach for traffic between GB and Northern Ireland. BPA welcomes new border pragmatism Associated British Ports (ABP) has appointed Madeleine Hallward as ABP’s new Group Head of Strategic Communications. This is a new role created to develop and drive the new company strategy in three core areas: government relations, external communications and brand development/marketing. Madeleine took up her role in July having previously served as a non- executive director on the board of the Office of Rail and Road and was Director for Government Affairs for Ford of Britain, where she served for six years on the UK Board. Prior to Ford she worked at Diageo, Bloomberg, Energy UK and NESTA. JulianWalker, ABP’s Chief Commercial Officer, said: “Central toABP’s strategy is our ability to build strong engagement and relationships with national and local government, our customers and other key external stakeholders, so we are delighted that Madeleine has chosen to join ABP and lead this part of our new business strategy.” ABP appoints new Group Head of Strategic Communications The past several months have been challenging for us all, and together we are learning to understand and adapt to these unprecedented circumstances introduced by Covid-19. With that being said, to protect the health of our BPA members and conference participants, the decision has been made to postpone the 2020 BPA Annual Conference scheduled for October in Aberdeen until 6-7 October 2021. The team at Aberdeen Harbour and the British Ports Association, along with the conference organisers have deliberated extensively on this situation, and this decision was made with a great deal of heartache. We had put in a lot of time and effort to create a remarkable event that would have given attendees an amazing cultural experience, opportunities to meet new industry colleagues and wonderful programmes, but we feel that the restrictions that will still be in place this October will greatly detract from the delegate experience. If you have booked a Partnership Package or made enquiries with the Sponsorship team you will have been contacted directly by them to discuss your options for the rescheduled conference on 6-7 October 2021. We thank you for your support and understanding and very much look forward to welcoming you to Aberdeen on 6-7 October 2021 where our gathering together will be even more significant following these challenging times. BPA Conference 2020 postponed – save the date for 2021! LOADS MORE CUSTOMER SERVICE 01543 420 121 www.deker.co.uk