Latest news with #LogisticsUK
Press and Journal
22-05-2025
- Automotive
- Press and Journal
Highland Council given safety warning after wheel falls off vehicle and loose wheel nuts found on another
Several investigations were launched into the condition of Highland Council's vehicles after the wheel fell off one and loose wheel nuts were later found on another. Scotland's Deputy Traffic Commissioner issued a 'formal warning' to the council's vehicle team after the two incidents and instances of failing to correctly report defects. It is the council's second independent audit into their vehicle fleet in just over a year and could have led to a public inquiry into its vehicle conduct. Committee councillors congratulated officers and welcomed their report stating the council had avoided the 'disaster' of a public inquiry. However, other councillors have described the auditor's verdict and the near miss of an inquiry as 'anything but a clean bill of health.' Back in 2021, the council suffered a 'wheel loss incident' with one of their vehicles in Lochaber. That was noted by officials, but in 2023 the council were told a vehicle was not road worthy after an MOT revealed it had loose wheel nuts and another had suspension issues. Despite the issues being 'rectified immediately' the DVSA decided to conduct a 'more thorough investigation' given the 'seriousness' of the faults. This resulted in an independent audit on the council's fleet operations in May last year. After the initial investigation, the Deputy Traffic Commissioner for Scotland, Hugh Olson, issued a 'formal warning,' questioning the council's operating procedure for vehicles. A second independent audit was subsequently conducted in February of this year. The latest independent audit was conducted by Logistics UK and was returned to the council in March. Several 'urgent' actions issued to the council included an overhaul of the council's 'defect reporting process' for vehicles. These actions included a review of the 'control and compliance of drivers,' part of which involved the process of checking driver licences. The audit also revealed the council does not have a 'formal' drugs and alcohol policy, which includes random testing for their drivers and vehicle staff. Further actions for the council to take included multiple policy reviews and various continued checks on the council's seven vehicle workshops. Another independent audit must be completed by the August 31 to judge improvements to the service. The council is currently working on implementing a 'no defect, no repair' policy as part of their improvements to vehicle services. Further training on driver licences and compliance has been issued and a drugs and alcohol policy remains on target for the next report in September. On a UK government vehicle operations scoring system, Highland Council is still rated overall as 'low risk.' Graham MacKenzie, chairman of Highland Council's communities and place committee, said the investigations are a 'significantly serious issue for the council.' He added: 'It would not have been good to have been asked to attend a public inquiry in relation to this.' He then thanked council officers for their work in avoiding further scrutiny. Skye councillor Drew Millar said: 'I welcome this report and congratulations to the staff who did all the work to avert what could have potentially been a bit of a disaster.' Speaking after the more positive comments in the chamber, Inverness councillor Duncan Macpherson said the council's situation was 'anything but' a 'clean bill of health. Councillor Macpherson, who has run car dealerships across the Highlands and Moray and managed MOT testing facilities, was watching the meeting online. He said: 'Facing the prospect of having to appear up in front of the Traffic Commissioner, the council hurriedly took reparative action to correct their own faults and shortcomings on the way their fleet of vehicles was maintained.' He compared the council's actions that of a private company and said in this situation the business owner in the Highlands would likely have been 'sanctioned and financially penalised.' Mr Macpherson added the 'damning' report was 'genuinely bad news' and said the attempts to frame it as good news 'beggar belief.' The council will provide a further update on progress to improve the service in September.
Fibre2Fashion
11-05-2025
- Business
- Fibre2Fashion
Logistics UK expects more stability from US deal, GTRI cautions India
Logistics UK, a body of logistics businesses, has expressed hope that the recently-announced US-UK trade agreement will lead to a period of greater stability as British businesses in the sector had been unsettled by the lack of clarity and consistency provided for traders since reciprocal tariffs were announced. 'We will be scrutinising the detail of the agreement in the coming weeks to identify the opportunities for growth that the deal should bring,' Logistics UK head of trade and devolved policy Nichola Mallon said in a statement. Logistics UK is hopeful that the recently-announced US-UK trade deal will lead to a period of greater stability as UK businesses in the sector had been unsettled by the lack of clarity and consistency provided for traders since reciprocal tariffs were announced. Meanwhile, Indian think tank GTRI cautioned that India may soon come under similar pressure from the US to sign a narrow mini-trade deal. Meanwhile, Indian trade policy think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) cautioned that India may soon come under similar pressure from the United states to finalise a narrowly focused mini-trade package, centred around tariff cuts, strategic market openings and large-value commercial deals, rather than a broader free trade agreement (FTA) that would require Congressional approval. The US-UK deal, appears to be heavily tilted in the US' favour, with the united Kingdom granting sweeping market access in return for relatively modest tariff cuts—a lopsided outcome that Indian negotiators should avoid, said a brief report by the think tank. The UK deal, according to the GTRI, reflects the Trump administration's preferred style: limited, transactional arrangements that deliver quick wins without the legislative complexity of a full-fledged FTA. If India mirrors the United Kingdom's approach, it could end up granting sweeping concessions without securing equivalent gains, it added. Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
The Independent
12-03-2025
- Business
- The Independent
New Brexit rules risk leaving ‘gaps on shelves' in Northern Ireland by July
New post- Brexit labelling rules could see 'gaps on shelves' in Northern Ireland by July, a Westminster committee has heard. Business representatives told the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee that the Windsor Framework was 'an improvement' on previous post-Brexit trade arrangements but there were still challenges. Concerns were also raised about new parcel delivery requirements needed from March 31, and 'phase three' labelling rules that are to be introduced from July 31. Nichola Mallon, head of trade and devolved policy at Logistics UK, said a 'more trusted' approach was needed on checks. The former SDLP deputy leader said the Windsor Framework was 'an improvement' on the Northern Ireland protocol, but that there were some problems with GB to NI trade. 'I think there is a consensus within our membership that the Windsor Framework was to some extent oversold and it created a misperception that all of the challenges under the Northern Ireland protocol had been removed. 'It has contributed to a lack of awareness, particularly among GB businesses, of the requirements that must be met under the Windsor Framework and, to some degree, there is a reluctance among some GB-based businesses to trade in Northern Ireland because of the administrative and cost requirements.' Neil Johnston, director of the Northern Ireland Retail Consortium, repeatedly raised concerns about new labelling requirements in July, which aim to ensure goods are not moved onwards into the EU. 'We are not Del Boy and Rodney,' he said. 'We are not trying to get our goods secretly over the border into the south.' He said that for supermarket chains such as Asda and Sainsburys, they should not need to fill in 'vast amount of paperwork' to prove the goods are not travelling south of the border, where they do not have branches in that jurisdiction. 'The risk of any of these products from the supermarkets that don't have southern premises going astray is negligible, so why do we have those levels of checks is certainly a question that we are asking regularly. 'In the case of Marks and Sparks and Tesco's, who have big operations in the Republic of Ireland, they have track and trace technology that they have invested heavily in and they should be relied upon without vast levels of inspections and paperwork to be able to deliver that.' He said that while the Windsor Framework was 'an improvement', trading had become 'more and more difficult' in recent times. 'I think we started from the wrong position, the wrong place and basically we have an overly bureaucratic approach. 'I think we have successfully achieved what we were required to do, high levels of compliance at the moment, but it's very, very difficult. 'The nature of our businesses, what's in the back of these trucks is highly diverse and regularly changing, it's not about you get this right once and be done. It's just a neverending saga.' He said that work from businesses had meant customers had largely not noticed the scale of the change, but there was a risk they would by July. 'This is like a swan on a lake. The reason consumers haven't noticed anything is because Nichola's members and my members are pedalling furiously to comply and have achieved a lot. 'Going forward, it's going to become more and more difficult, particularly, as mentioned before, the phase three labelling. 'There are branded products that we cannot tell suppliers to brand them for Northern Ireland. 'The government, to my mind, hasn't really been clear on how they are going to resolve that problem. 'They say they've taken the powers to require those producers to label for Northern Ireland, but it's not very clear as to how that will happen. 'So come July, it's highly likely that there will be gaps on shelves. Household products that people are used to having on their shelves in Northern Ireland may well – I hope not, we've had this before with phase one and phase two – but there may be products that, come the end of July, that disappear.' Ms Mallon said there had been a 'change in tone' from the Government in the last number of months and said the UK-EU reset had 'led to more positive approach to things'. She said there had been a series of webinars and roundtables in Great Britain held about changes. Anne-Marie Murphy, director of strategy and emerging markets at the NI Consumer Council, said they had already identified 'difficulties' in delivering goods from GB to NI. She said 'it isn't going to be business as usual' once the parcel changes come into force on March 31. 'The difficulty about this is that Northern Ireland consumers will be on the receiving end of these arrangements. 'So it is going to be a grandmother sending a gift to her grandchild in Northern Ireland. 'It is going to be a business sending something to a consumer in Northern Ireland. 'It is going to be a consumer in the UK returning a product to a business in Northern Ireland. 'So there's three different processes already and our parcels research has already identified … that there have been some difficulties in relation to delivering to Northern Ireland, either by business deciding that they are not going to deliver to Northern Ireland or it is too difficult, or by some mistakes in the process.' Jennifer Pheasey, director of public affairs at the Horticultural Trades Association, also appeared before the committee on Wednesday.
