FTA and RHA welcome £15 billion English roads programme 01 December 2014

The FTAA (Freight Transport Association) and RHA (Road Haulage Association) have welcomed today's (1 December 2014) government announcement of £15 billion investment in England's road network – but with caveats.

Malcolm Bingham, FTA's head of road network management policy, says the investment will significant benefits to the industry, particularly in terms of improving journey reliability.

"The freight and logistics industry relies upon a reliable road infrastructure to ensure that products are moved efficiently and at reasonable cost," he says.

"Our challenge now is to make sure that these announced schemes are taken forward and the work that will be inevitable during construction is done with the minimum of disruption," he adds.

Meanwhile, RHA chief executive Richard Burnett comments: "Ours is an industry that is time critical and today's announcement will come as good news to UK hauliers. The plans to tackle congestion and fix some of the most notorious and longstanding problem areas on the network are particularly welcome."

But he continues: "However, road improvements are just part of the jigsaw. The fact remains that this industry is now facing a critical driver shortage.

"While road improvements and road building are good news, they will have little effect on the industry that, quite literally moves the economy forward, if there are not enough HGV drivers to take advantage of the improvements."

Burnett insists that the industry needs government to invest in training for drivers. "This announcement makes it clear that the money is there – it makes sense that funding for training is made available."

The Road Haulage Association is asking the chancellor for an investment of a little under £150 million to support training for 45,000 drivers.

This is a drop in the ocean, compared to the announced £15 billion spend," states Burnett.

Author
Brian Tinham

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