The British Ports Association joined forces this week with ten other logistics trade associations, with heads of the associations signing a joint letter to the Prime Minister and to political leaders across the devolved nations of the UK to appoint a Logistics Minister, to champion the growth of the UK's economic foundation.
This could significantly contribute to growth and productivity of trade with the right policies in place. The parties are committed to working together with the government to overcome challenges and pave the way for a prosperous future.
They want to work with government to secure:
- A dedicated UK government minister for logistics with cross-departmental responsibilities.
- Radical planning reform, long-term infrastructure investment and increase in transport capacity.
- A joint UK government-logistics sustainability and decarbonisation roadmap. • Skills policies to enable the sector to win the battle for talent.
- Partnership between the UK government and the sector to boost trade.
Commenting on the letter Richard Ballantyne, the Chief Executive of the British Ports Association, the national trade body for the ports sector whose members facilitate 86% of the UK's seaborne trade, said: "Freight and logistics are essential to the UK economy and largely independent of government but we do need some assistance from policy makers. There is work to be done on transport connectivity, decarbonisation, skills and trade and as a coalition of sectors we would like to see the government give us more recognition and support to help drive growth and jobs in the UK."
For more information: britishports.org.uk