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Truck and Track Winter 2019 www.truckandtrack.com 32 FTA NEWS Tens of thousands of vans on the UK’s roads are now being operated to the highest standards of safety, compliance and efficiency, thanks to the work undertaken by the members of Van Excellence, a voluntary scheme administered by FTA and sponsored by Mercedes-Benz Vans. FTA is pleased to announce 2019was another successful yearwith91 companies achieving Van Excellence Operator Accreditation. The Van Excellence Operator programme provides businesses with the opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to safer, more efficient and sustainable van fleets by passing a series of compliance tests. Chris Lipscomb, Director of Operations at FTA, comments: “Van Excellence was launched in 2010 with the aim of professionalising van driving; nearly ten years later, it is fair to say its members have made great strides in improving the operational standards of the sector. With 91 companies achieving Operator Accreditation this year alone, we are extremely proud of Van Excellence; it remains the only industry group responsible for maintaining and championing the very highest standards of compliance across the van market. “Whether a business operating a fleet of more than 5,000 vans – as does our largest member, BT Fleet – or an organisationwith a single vehicle, the need for safety remains the same and must not be overlooked. Van Excellence is at the heart of FTA’s vans strategy and we plan to take it from strength to strength. And with many new projects in the pipeline, including the development of a specialist emission zone advice service, FTA has positioned itself at the forefront of the burgeoning vans sector; watch this space for more exciting developments in 2020.” VanExcellence is also sponsoredbyTheAA, Bott, BrigadeElectronics, Hertz, Lex Autolease and Quartix. In autumn 2019, FTA launched a dedicated Vans Policy Working Group. The group, comprised of 41 leaders within the sector, provides a vital mouthpiece for the industry with government, regulators and other stakeholders and a platform to communicate and debate the issues the market is facing. FTA’s vans programme also includes Operational Briefings, held annually across the country to boost knowledge and expertise across van operators, and the prestigious Van Driver of the Year award. For more information on Van Excellence please visit http://www.vanexcellence.co.uk, em ail info@vanexcellence.co.uk or call 03717 11 22 22. Administered by FTA, the leading organisation in UK logistics, Van Excellence was created in 2010 to promote the safe operation of vans, represent the interests of the sector, and celebrate operators demonstrating excellent standards. Central to the scheme is the Van Excellence Code, a set of minimum best practice standards all van operators should aspire to achieve, covering safety, efficiency and sustainability. Van Excellence celebrates another successful year FTA, the business organisation which speaks for the logistics industry, welcomes the new clarity and direction that the General Election result provides to business in terms of Brexit planning. However, FTA is warning that, without the passing of the Withdrawal Agreement through Parliament, there is still the risk of a No Deal departure from the EU on 31 January 2020 – which could bring chaos to the UK’s highly interconnected supply chain, and the industry which relies upon it. Assuming Prime Minister Boris Johnson follows through on his commitment that hewill “get Brexit done” and achieves ratification of the Withdrawal Agreement by Parliament, Pauline Bastidon, FTA’s Head of Global and European Policy, is keen that the focus for government should then shift to details of the future trading arrangements between the UK and EU: “What logistics and supply chain managers need above all is clarity over the Brexit’s end game. While the short-term priority is to ensure that the UK leaves with a ratified withdrawal agreement, we need answers to the big questions about our future trading arrangements with Europe. Most of the crucial topics related to trade and transport have yet to be negotiated with the EU, in what will be a very short amount of time. Entering these negotiations with a clear picture of what logistics needs will be critical to its success. Minimising frictions, red tape and costs should be at the heart of the negotiations if UKPLC is to continue trading effectively,” she says. According to FTA, the three priorities still concerning businesses across the sector which is responsible for keeping Britain’s industry and consumers stocked with the products they need are: ■■ Final confirmation of the arrangements for imports and exports between the UK and Europe need to be agreed – business needs to know what the processes required will be and have time to learn and implement them. ■■ Agreement on the situation on the Northern Ireland border, including the potential for checks and where and how these are to be made. ■■ The ongoing situation regarding the employment of EU nationals within a sector that relies on them for vital labour – with more than 53,000 lorry driver vacancies already in the UK, and more in warehousing, van driving and other key roles across the sector, the loss of the 343,000 EU nationals working in British logistics firms could see vehicle movements and the supply chain as a whole come to a standstill. “Our members are agile and know how to adapt to changing circumstances and new risks and opportunities, but to do so, they will need sufficient advanced notice of the changes that are to come. Ensuring they are involved every step of the way, from the definition of the negotiating mandate to implementation of new rules is the best way of ensuring that the new trade and transport arrangements will work in practice and allow logistics to Keep Britain Trading. As the voice of logistics, we stand ready to do just this.” https://fta.co.uk Brexit: failing to plan is planning to fail, says FTA COMBINED TRUCK & TRAILER SOLUTIONS 01543 420 121 www. deker .co.uk