Latest Industry news – Page 188
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MPs back £100m HGV driver training fund bid
Two-thirds of MPs support the idea of granting £100m of government funding to train new truck drivers to address the shortfall, exclusive ComRes research commissioned by Motortransport.co.uk and the RHA has found.The survey asked 150 MPs whether they would support the allocation of £100m in government funding over the next ...
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Full Report: CVS and Richard Lawson found not guilty of fraud
Two directors and two managers of Commercial Vehicle Solutions (CVS) have been cleared of the charges of fraud they faced at Leeds Crown Court.The jury also found co-accused Richard Lawson, MD of Spirit Auto Logistics and successor Spirit Motor Transport, not guilty of a charge of fraud.At the start of ...
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Transport rates only fractionally higher than in 2012
Road transport rates have hardly moved over the last three years, provisional new data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has shown. According to the ONS’s latest Services Producer Price Indices, rates for freight transport by road at the end of 2014 were no higher than at the end ...
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Labour stays silent on rail freight plans
The Labour Party has told Motortransport.co.uk it cannot comment on how its plans to change the rail franchising system might affect rail freight services, if it were to come to power after the general election in May. Labour’s statement followed comments in February by shadow transport secretary Michael Dugher, who ...
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Richard Lawson and CVS found not guilty at Leeds Crown Court
Two directors and two managers from Commercial Vehicle Solutions have been found not guilty of fraud at Leeds Crown Court.In November of last year, CVS MD Martin Collins, sales director Richard Gosling and managers Bruce Lawrie and Tim Edwards pleaded not guilty to conspiring to defraud the traffic commissioners of ...
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Online dashboard revealed by Transport Exchange Group
Transport Exchange Group has launched an online dashboard for owner-operators.The dashboard is available to individual members of its Haulage Exchange and Courier Exchange brands and allows them to advertise vehicle availability and return journeys, as well as give them an overview of recent booking activity and feedback. It also includes ...
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Don't demonise diesel authorities are urged
Government and local authorities have been urged not to “demonise diesel” but to develop a national framework instead to encourage the take up of modern, clean diesel trucks.The call came at a conference on air quality held by vehicle manufacturers’ association the SMMT.While alternative fuels and drivetrains are available, diesel ...
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Decision not to hold PI stinks, says CVS defence counsel
The launching of a criminal investigation without first holding a public inquiry (PI) into Commercial Vehicle Solutions (CVS) “stinks”, according to the defence counsel for two of the company’s directors.Speaking in Leeds Crown Court, Richard Smith QC suggested that the Vosa investigation into CVS’s activities was not impartial.The prosecution alleges ...
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FTA and RHA press Treasury over driver shortage crisis
The FTA and RHA joined forces at a Treasury meeting last Friday (20 Feb) to push for immediate government funding towards the cost of training and licence acquisition for new HGV drivers.A joint statement issued by both associations said the Treasury got a “clear message” that the road transport industry ...
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Industry bodies power to tackle late payers being considered
Proposals to grant business groups the power to challenge unfair payment terms on behalf of their members are being considered by the government.As part of its plans to improve payment practices and crack down on overdue payments, the government wants to widen the powers currently given to representative bodies to ...
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Fors value questioned after some public sector bodies admit they don't require it
Further questions about the usefulness of Fors membership have surfaced, after it emerged some public sector bodies in London do not require truck operators they subcontract to be involved in the newly privatised accreditation scheme. Essex vehicle recovery firm Boleyn Recovery and Fleet Services told MT it had evidence of ...
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Former Excel Logistics boss Allan named as Tesco chairman
Supermarket chain Tesco has appointed former Exel Logistics chief John Allan as its new chairman.Allan will replace Richard Broadbent following his decision to step down from the post on 1 March.Allan was CEO of Ocean Group in the 1990s and then of Exel when Ocean merged with NFC in 2000.He ...
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FTA and RHA to press Treasury for driver training funding
The FTA and RHA are set to meet with the Treasury today to make the case for government funding for the training of HGV drivers.Both trade associations have been pressing for a meeting with the Treasury to explore new ways to encourage people to enter the driver labour force. They ...
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Student loans proposal for learner HGV drivers is not dead
The chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Freight Transport (APPG) has said a push to extend student loans to cover would-be HGV drivers is not dead, despite the government seemingly killing-off the proposal.Speaking to Motortransport.co.uk at an event at Westminster last week, Rob Flello MP said that despite ...
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Operators urged to monitor routes during cycle superhighway 2 upgrade works
TfL is urging the use of alternative routes during peak times while construction work to upgrade cycle superhighway 2 (CS2) takes place.The upgrade will create a fully and semi-segregated route between Aldgate and Bow roundabout, including 11 cycle-priority junctions installed, including at Aldgate, Mile End and Whitechapel.The vast majority of ...
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Skills for Logistics liquidation process gets underway
Skills for Logistics (SfL) has officially entered creditors’ voluntary liquidation.Following a creditors’ meeting on 9 February, Peter O’Hara and Simon Weir of West Yorkshire firm O’Hara & Co were appointed to handle the liquidation.Speaking to MotorTransport.co.uk, Weir said the liquidation process would take several months to complete, while standard investigations ...
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RHA sets date for government roundtable debate on HGV driver funding
The RHA has confirmed it will be meeting with the Treasury next Friday (20 Feb) to thrash out the potential of direct funding for road haulage employers wanting to train new HGV drivers.A meeting last month with business secretary Vince Cable saw RHA chief executive Richard Burnett (pictured) highlight the ...
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Beverley Bell to become CILT president
Beverley Bell, senior traffic commissioner for Britain, is to become president of the CILT in May. Bell, who will take over the one-year presidency from Jim Spittle, chairman of standards body GS1 UK, has been vice-president for two years and a member of CILT for nearly a decade.It is believed ...
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Operators split over Fors fees
Operators joining newly privatised Fors later this month will pay from £485 up to an eye-watering £11,250 in annual fees to be part of the benchmarking and safety initiative.The new pricing, which sees operators charged on the basis of fleet size and number of operating centres for the previously free ...
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Register now for Clocs demonstration event in London
Operators looking to meet the requirements of Fors silver or gold, or the Construction Logistics and Cyclist Safety (Clocs) scheme, should register to attend a demonstration event on Thursday 26 February at ExCeL, London.The event is a practical demonstration of the requirements for both schemes and those who attend will ...