Jon RHA

Thank you to @FlanneryPlant Hire and John Moran for hosting an RHA member visit with David Boot, @KemiBadenoch MP and Shadow Secretary of State for Transport @RicHolden at their Wembley site today. Following sustained RHA campaigning on the impact of fuel costs on operators - and growing national media attention on the issue - it was encouraging to see fuel duty raised in Parliament yesterday during Prime Minister’s Questions by Kemi Badenoch and other MPs. Today’s visit provided a valuable opportunity to continue that conversation on the ground, with Kemi Badenoch MP seeing first-hand the vital role plant, logistics and specialist transport operations play in supporting major construction and infrastructure projects across the UK. Visits like this are an important opportunity to ensure policymakers hear directly from the businesses keeping projects moving across the country. The RHA continues to press for practical support to help operators manage rising fuel costs and wider pressures on the sector, including: • halting the planned reversal of the 5p fuel duty cut • a temporary reduction in fuel VAT • stronger UK energy security • mandatory 30-day payment terms to ease cash-flow pressures Creating a level playing field for the industry is crucial. We will continue working with the industry and policymakers to ensure the realities facing operators are clearly understood and that these priorities remain firmly on the agenda.

Today the Road Haulage Association delivered an open letter to the Prime Minister signed by 115 parliamentarians calling for urgent action to improve facilities for the UK’s lorry drivers. MPs and Peers from across Parliament have joined the @RHANews in urging the Government to support measures that ensure drivers have access to safe, secure parking and decent roadside facilities. Truck drivers keep our country moving. They deliver the food on our shelves, the medicines in our hospitals and the goods that power our economy. Yet far too often they are forced to rest in lay-bys or industrial estates because there simply are not enough suitable places to stop. This is not just a driver welfare issue. The shortage of secure parking also increases the risk of freight crime, disrupts supply chains and makes it harder to recruit the next generation of drivers. The strength of support behind this letter shows the scale of concern across Parliament. Improving facilities for drivers is essential if we want a resilient, secure and professional freight sector. We will continue to press the Prime Minister on this issue and look forward to receiving his personal response. #Logistics #Freight #SupplyChains #TruckDrivers #RoadTransport

Our Public Affairs & Policy Director (England), @RHADeclan told the Transport Select Committee in Parliament today that poor roadside facilities are making it harder to recruit and retain drivers. With freight crime on the rise, "less than 4% of parking sites are deemed safe and secure, and organised criminals know it." Declan called for real ministerial focus and urgent planning reform to get adequate facilities for HGV and Coach drivers built ASAP.

We were delighted to be invited to a roundtable on #FreightCrime with @ukhomeoffice Minister of State (Policing & Crime) Sarah Jones MP, @transportgovuk Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State - Keir Mather MP & Chair of our APPG, @RachelTaylorMP. 👇 The roundtable follows years of RHA led campaigning on freight crime alongside our partners at @NaVCIS_UK. We were joined by RHA members LTS Global Solutions and other trade bodies to deliver a unified voice against this growing threat. Later this year we'll launch the APPG’s second report into freight crime, and we look forward to continuing to work with the Home Office, DfT and others to represent the road haulage industry’s voice.

On Friday, Chancellor @RachelReevesMP met with RHA members & industry leaders (including our MD @RHARJSmith) to discuss a range of issues facing the road #freight and #logistics sector. 👇 Following the visit which was hosted by our member LTS Global Solutions & @RachelTaylorMP, Richard said: "Today was a signal of just how important our industry is, central to moving everything and driving growth. I was keen to press the deep concerns we have about rising fuel duty, depressed international haulage and the ongoing rise of freight crime..." Read more in @Motor_Transport: 🔗👇motortransport.co.uk/industry-news/…

Safe #parking and basic roadside facilities aren't luxuries, they're essentials. Yet many drivers in our industry are still forced to rest at the side of dimly lit roads without access to toilets or secure parking. 📺 Watch our member and MD of Freightlink Europe - Lesley O'Brien speak to @BBCLookNorth about the need for more secure parking. 👇 We took this message to MPs and Peers at our Westminster reception last night. You can support the campaign by emailing your MP and asking them to sign our letter to @10DowningStreet calling for better #welfare facilities for our drivers: 🔗 obi41.nl/249cn95d

Really great to meet with Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands, at @RHANews member @RailFreight impressive intermodal terminal in Birmingham. The West Midlands is essential to our national logistics network, and logistics is essential to the West Midlands economy. Mayor Parker knows the importance of this synergy, and the opportunities the logistics industry can provide for social mobility, particularly for those not in employment, education or training. It was great to discuss with him how the West Midlands Combined Authority can include logistics in its growth, transport and skills plans, and I look forward to working closely with Mayor Parker and his team to deliver for our industry, the West Midlands and the nation.

With 50,000 pothole defects and a series of related incidents being reported on NI roads in the last three months alone, we're calling for funding to be ring-fenced and specifically allocated for longer-term pothole fixes. Commenting on this, our Policy Lead, @JamesBarwiseRHA said: “Poorly maintained roads are causing misery for road users every day creating delays, diversions and adding to already high costs for many businesses. "The sheer volume of reported pothole related incidents highlights the short-term nature of many repairs happening across the country. We’re calling for funds to be allocated and ring-fenced now - specifically for longer-term fixes". Read more in @News_Letter via: 🔗newsletter.co.uk/news/politics/…

Net zero for HGVs: what matters most right now? As work continues on the HGV CO₂ Emissions Consultation, we want to understand where the industry genuinely stands. Which pathway do you believe is most realistic for decarbonising HGVs?

⚠️ Amber warning in affect in Northern Ireland. 🌧️ Stay updated by the Met Office here: obi41.nl/yckrvcae

Great to see @RHANews member TruckingBy providing live event logistics for the global @NetflixUK event #WWERAW in Belfast this evening.

🚛 Critics claim Labour’s plan would push up cost of business, consumer goods and parcel deliveries Read more at the link below 👇 telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/01/1…

Excellent press officer-ing from our team again getting this issue into @TheSun today. Firms are at risk as 90/180 EU rules will be strictly enforced. @RHANews is calling for a professional drivers' exemption to save UK transport jobs. #RHAInternational @RHAJon_

This increases costs, and it threatens jobs... ☀️ Today, thanks to @ryansabey's report in @TheSun, with Leger Shearings Group we're highlighting the challenges of the EU 90/180 rule for international coach, van and HGV operators. It is likely that a number of British businesses will go to the wall without easements for drivers on international work. This means EU-based firms filling the gap – and then taking on more UK domestic work. We continue to work with other trade bodies to find a way forward, and we’re repeating our call on Government for a professional drivers’ exemption to help protect UK haulage and coach firms working across borders. Read more here: thesun.co.uk/news/37787232/…

RHA welcomes Government response to Lord Murphy Review but warns of missed opportunity to address specific GB-NI haulage frictions 👇 Commenting, RHA Policy Director @RHA_MReid said: "We welcome the Government's acceptance of Lord Murphy's recommendations, this is a positive step. However, the response doesn't go far enough to address frictions faced by hauliers. "The Government's response makes no firm commitments to assisting firms in our industry who move goods and materials between GB and NI. We continue to believe a Trusted Haulier Scheme should be introduced, and we repeat our call for the determination of risk to be moved to the point of sale. We look forward to continuing to work with decision-makers and officials to find further solutions." Read more: 🔗rha.uk.net/news/news/deta…

We’re delighted to share that we've been shortlisted for Media Campaign of the Year at the UK Trade Association Awards. We've been nominated for our #freightcrime awareness campaign which combined traditional press and media, and social media to shine a light on an issue that has a £100+ million annual cost to the UK economy and impacts drivers, businesses and families across the country. We’ve secured significant national media coverage for our campaign to urge the Government to do more to help our industry tackle freight crime. In the last year, we landed coverage in The Sun, Daily Mail, Times, the Independent, BBC News and GB News, giving this growing issue the attention it deserves. We were instrumental too in helping the BBC pull together a prime-time documentary on freight crime and the impact it has on people and businesses. We worked with them over several months this year on their 'Lorry Crime Exposed' documentary which aired last month, facilitating member stories and industry insights. Importantly, RHA members and members of the public were actively engaged in this campaign, raising the issue here on social media and sharing our content widely. The campaign also featured in a number trade publications, including our own Roadway Magazine. We’re proud of the @TAForum Awards nomination as it’s a recognition of our work raising awareness of a critical issue that had previously gone under-reported. Our media campaign has played a key part in elevating freight crime from a transport issue to a recognised national issue.

📰 "Fuel duty is frozen… but price at pump will INCREASE next year" Quoted in @TheSun, RHA Managing Director @RHARJSmith said: “The Chancellor’s decision to reverse the 5p cut on fuel duty after September 2026 and the increase of fuel duty rates by inflation from April 2027 will be a hammer blow for many businesses and push up the cost of living for families across the country. “Whilst we welcome today’s decision to initially continue the fuel duty freeze until next September, as independent economic research shows – a 5p rise would increase household costs by £2bn annually, pushing up the price of everyday essentials. “Future fuel duty increases loom large for families struggling with the cost of living and for the many small businesses who keep our supply chains moving.” Read the full story here: thesun.co.uk/motors/3743586…

📺 Did you see @RachelTaylorMP on the news last night? We have worked closely with Rachel, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Freight and Logistics, to champion her Freight Crime Bill, which calls for a specific crime code to enable police to track and tackle serious organized cargo theft effectively. Watch Lorry Crime Exposed on BBC iPlayer NOW: bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episod… Freight crime has cost the UK over £1 BILLION since 2020. 🚨 We're calling on the Chancellor ahead of next week's Budget for targeted police funding to tackle this crisis. Help us secure this investment - email your MP now: rhacontactmp.uk.net

📺 If you didn't catch Lorry Crime Exposed on BBC One last night, watch it now on iPlayer: bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episod…

📺 Our Senior Public Affairs Lead, @RHAAshton, has been on BBC News this morning highlighting the impact of freight crime, and some of the measures needed to address it. Watch Lorry Crime Exposed on BBC iPlayer NOW: bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episod… The RHA is pleased to have played it's part, working with the BBC's production team for several months, to put this issue in front of a national audience. Freight crime is estimated to have cost the UK economy more than £1bn since 2020, and we have a plan to combat it. 🚨 One of our key asks is for more targeted funding to assist the Police in this area. It forms part of our call to the Chancellor ahead of the budget next week. If you agree, please email your MP to help us further via: rhacontactmp.uk.net