Industry news – Page 175

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    New device monitors drivers' blood sugar levels in real time

    2015-11-26T12:22:00Z

    Employers can ensure they comply with medical requirements surrounding diabetes and driving with the launch of a device that monitors blood sugar levels in real time.The GSM-enabled monitoring device also receives information that helps HGV drivers manage their condition and according to hauliers’ organisation The Logistics Guild, could prevent future ...

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    Operators face a return to fuel duty increases from 2016

    2015-11-26T10:05:00Z

    Fuel duty is set to be increased next year and will climb each year after that in line with inflation.Although chancellor George Osborne did not mention fuel duty in his Autumn Statement yesterday (25 November), effectively maintaining the status quo that has meant no duty rises in five years, this ...

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    Fuel duty held for now but chancellor ignores calls for a cut

    2015-11-25T15:49:00Z

    The chancellor has held fuel duty in today’s Autumn Statement meaning no rise for a fifth year running but could have gone further, according to FairFuelUK (FFUK).FFUK, which released new CEBR research ahead of the Autumn Statement and Spending Review, said while no increase was welcome the chancellor “could have ...

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    DfT hit hardest by government budget cuts

    2015-11-25T15:48:00Z

    The DfT was hit with the biggest government departmental cut in the Spending Review today. Released alongside George Osborne's Autumn Statement, the review sets out a 37% cut in the DfT's day-to-day operations budget, which will see it fall from £2.6bn this year to £1.8bn in 2019/20.This is despite an ...

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    Motor Transport Podcast: FairFuelUK, Autumn Statement

    2015-11-25T12:21:00Z

    The latest Motor Transport Podcast is now available to download from iTunes.In this week's edition the Motor Transport news team discuss what operators should expect from the chancellor’s Autumn Statement today. It also includes some highlights from the FairFuelUK-commissioned report, Assessing the Impact of Lower Prices on the UK ...

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    Strike action set to escalate at DVSA

    2015-11-24T10:44:00Z

    Serious disruption of vehicle testing operations at authorised testing facilities (ATFs) is on the cards with DVSA workers planning to escalate their industrial action from this week with a series of one day strikes.The industrial action centres around a long running dispute at DVSA over pay and conditions linked to ...

  • Article

    FairFuelUK: Lower fuel duty will boost the economy longterm

    2015-11-20T12:33:00Z

    FairFuelUK (FFUK) has published new research "that blows the current thinking around fuel duty out of the water", according to the head of the campaign.The CEBR report, Assessing the Impact of Lower Prices on the UK Economy, has revealed that the lower petrol and diesel prices of 2015 have raised ...

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    Finance director disqualified for fraud

    2015-11-20T11:55:00Z

    Former Euromix Concrete finance director David Marsh has been disqualified for eight years from any involvement in the promotion, formation or management of a company.It came after he provided the Insolvency Service with a disqualification undertaking, having admitted to fraudulent abuse of an invoice discounting facility. Marsh’s abuse involved him ...

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    Vehicle test disruption likely as DVSA staff go on strike

    2015-11-19T16:14:00Z

    Vehicle testing operations at authorised testing facilities (ATFs) could be disrupted tomorrow (20 November), after union Prospect confirmed many of its 580 members within the DVSA will be out on strike.The three-hour strike, set to begin at 8am, comprises both vehicle testing and roadside enforcement staff.Prospect negotiations officer Helen Stevens ...

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    Transport Exchange Group Load Gauge shows SE driving volumes

    2015-11-19T15:08:00Z

    The monthly update on freight traffic flows around the UK from Transport Exchange Group shows that in October 2015 movements from Scotland to London/SE of England were up 18% compared with October 2014, while flow from London/SE to the Midlands were up 13%. "export" from the SW to the Midlands ...

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    Insurance broker expected more anger over 3.5% IPT hike

    2015-11-17T15:27:00Z

    A leading commercial vehicle insurance broker has expressed surprise that the logistics sector has not reacted more angrily to the 3.5% hike in insurance premium tax (IPT) that came into effect this month. The rise, which was announced in the Budget in July and affects a range of insurance policy ...

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    Operators evading tax with incorrect driver payments could face penalties

    2015-11-17T15:11:00Z

    Operators could face financial penalties if they are discovered to be paying employed drivers incorrectly to evade tax,after the RHA highlighted the practice.Nickie Elenor, employment consultant at law firm Rothera Sharp, told MotorTransport.co.uk that misleading the authorities about the employment status of a driver is an area that is “very ...

  • George Osborne
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    Operators face triple threat from Autumn Statement

    2015-11-17T14:55:00Z

    Operators face a potential triple whammy in the chancellor’s Autumn Statement on 25 November with cuts to spending on local roads, the DVSA’s enforcement budget and an increase in fuel duty on the cards.The government cuts, which will slash up to 30% off the DfT and the Department for Communities ...

  • MT 100
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    Motor Transport Top 100 2015 revealed

    2015-11-17T11:38:00Z

    The UK’s 100 largest operators are more profitable than they were last year and employ more people, according to the Motor Transport Top 100 2015, in association with SDC.Average turnover for the Top 100 is £283.7m, up year-on-year from £272.9m; average pre-tax profit is £11.2m, up year-on-year from £9.5m and ...

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    DVSA faces double-whammy of strike action

    2015-11-12T16:55:00Z

    Union Prospect has confirmed a strike by its members at the DVSA.It comes after it received support for industrial action in a ballot over the pay and conditions that will apply as part of the introduction of the Next Generation Testing (NGT) model the agency is rolling out nationwide, and ...

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    DHL warehouse staff poised to strike at Banbury

    2015-11-12T13:07:00Z

    Warehouse staff at DHL Supply Chain’s Cherwell Campus site in Banbury, Oxfordshire, are set to strike after further negotiations between the GMB union and the company failed to resolve an ongoing pay dispute. In a ballot which ended on 6 November, 73% of members voted for strike action and 83% ...

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    Kodak transfers warehouse operations to Miniclipper Logistics

    2015-11-12T11:01:00Z

    Kodak, the graphic communications division of Eastman Kodak, has transferred all UK warehouse operations to Miniclipper Logistics as part of a £2m, two-year rolling contract.The two companies have worked in partnership for the past two decades.All logistics functions and a number of employees at Kodak have been transferred to Miniclipper ...

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    Freight in the City Expo draws in the crowds; talks compliance, CLOCS

    2015-11-11T12:12:00Z

    The inaugural Freight in the City Expo held on 27 October 2015 at London’s Alexandra Palace brought together experts in the field of urban logistics as well as the latest technology to enable sustainable city deliveries.The expo comprised a series of seminars focusing on clean, safe and quiet and efficient ...

  • MTPodcast Logo
    Article

    The latest Motor Transport podcast available for download

    2015-11-10T15:03:00Z

    The latest episode of the Motor Transport Podcast is now available for download on iTunes.The latest instalment sees the Motor Transport team debate the RHA’s National Lorry Week. We discuss whether the week was a success, and whether it has done enough to help raise the industry's profile among the ...

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    GMB protests outside M&S store over agency staff pay

    2015-11-06T11:03:00Z

    The GMB union has held a protest outside a Marks and Spencer retail store over the rates of pay awarded to agency staff at the retailer’s Swindon DC, which was operated until January by Wincanton and is now run by DHL Supply Chain. Earlier this year, the union launched legal ...