Member News – 14 January 2026

14 January 2026

Your weekly member email from Logistics UK sharing the latest updates addressing industry-relevant developments, legislation and compliance updates and campaigns to help you stay informed.

In this issue:

• Northern Powerhouse Rail plans announced.
• Post-16 Level 3 and Below Pathways consultation.
• Load securing best practice guide for the brewing and drinks industry review.
• SAF revenue certainty mechanism: indicative heads of terms and contract allocation.
• Cyber Security and Resilience Bill introduced to Parliament.
• A reminder that Logistics UK has launched its annual Logistics Industry Survey.
• NaVCIS Freight Bulletin.

Northern Powerhouse Rail plans announced

The government has announced today (14 January) a new rail line between Liverpool and Manchester, as part of its vision for growth in the North.

Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) is part of a scheme which aims to drive growth and living standards across the north and is intended to demonstrate government’s commitment to deliver real infrastructure investment. Logistics UK has said this will help the logistics industry to drive the economy forward by creating the opportunity for increased rail freight capacity across the region.

Logistics UK is optimistic about the prospects for the new infrastructure project and the wider focus on infrastructure, but has highlighted that logistics must be at the heart of the scheme’s next stage of development if its full potential is to be realised. Logistics UK will work to ensure that the needs of the logistics sector are front and centre when making plans to maximise the impact of this investment.

Managing Pavement Parking Consultation results

Following the 2020 consultation, Department for Transport (DfT) has released the outcomes of the Managing pavement parking – GOV.UK consultation

Between 31 August and 22 November 2020, DfT consulted on measures to assist local authorities in tackling pavement parking in England (excluding London, where it is already prohibited).

DfT will proceed with providing local authorities with the power to enforce against unnecessary obstruction of the pavement. This power will sit alongside existing Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) powers, enabling councils to enforce pavement parking restrictions both where TROs are in place and in other areas where obstruction occurs. DfT will issue statutory guidance to support local authorities in using this power. This civil enforcement power will be delivered in due course through secondary legislation. Members can read the full findings of the consultation here.

Post-16 Level 3 and Below Pathways consultation

Logistics UK has responded to the government’s review of post-16 Level 3 and below pathways, welcoming reforms that strengthen employer-led technical education and create clearer routes into skilled work. The response strongly supports prioritising logistics in the first wave of new qualifications, including V (Vocational) Levels, Foundation Certificates and Occupational Certificates. While backing a standardised V Level size comparable to A levels, Logistics UK stresses the need for flexibility and modular design to reflect the technical depth of logistics roles and to enable smooth progression into apprenticeships and higher technical qualifications.

Logistics UK also highlighted the importance of employer-led careers guidance, inclusive qualification design, and adequate funding. Building on initiatives such as Generation Logistics, the reforms offer a major opportunity to reposition logistics as a modern, digital and sustainable career of choice, while delivering the skilled workforce the sector urgently needs.

Load securing best practice guide for the brewing and drinks industry review

In 2013, following a collaboration with members, Logistics UK published a best practice guide for load security within the brewing and drinks industry, focussing on transportation of kegs for both primary and secondary delivery vehicles. There have been many developments on load security guidance since then, culminating in the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) Securing loads on HGVs and goods vehicles.

Guidance within the GOV.UK document is general, intended to cover the whole of industry. There is therefore an opportunity to refresh and update the 2013 best practice guide to provide up to date specialist guidance to the brewing and drinks sector which could be hosted online and potentially linked from the GOV.UK guidance.

Logistics UK is forming a working group to review the guidance and ensure it provides useful specialist information for the industry, without repeating areas already covered in the GOV.UK guidance. It has support from HSE and DVSA and a meeting is planned. If members are interested in being involved, contact Martin Candish.

SAF revenue certainty mechanism: indicative heads of terms and contract allocation

The UK has already introduced the Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Mandate to help build demand for SAF and is now set to deliver a Revenue Certainty Mechanism (RCM) to support UK SAF production. In May 2025, the government laid the SAF Bill in Parliament to establish the powers to implement the RCM. The RCM aims to help producers secure the investment they need to ramp up the production of SAF in the UK.

DfT has now published a consultation seeking views on plans for a SAF RCM by explaining the expected contractual provisions and options for allocating contracts. This consultation seeks further engagement on how the RCM will be implemented, such as future contract design.

The consultation closes on 3 April. Whilst Logistics UK does not intend to respond, members wishing to discuss the consultation should please contact Katie Adams.

Cyber Security and Resilience Bill introduced to Parliament

The government has introduced the Cyber Security and Resilience (Network and Information Systems) Bill to Parliament, representing a significant overhaul of the UK’s cyber security framework. The Bill expands and updates the Network and Information Systems (NIS) Regulations, moving beyond a narrow focus on traditional essential services to regulate a much broader range of digital and operational activities. This includes large and medium managed service providers, additional cloud services, data centres and other digitally critical operators – which logistics companies increasingly rely upon.

The Bill also strengthens incident reporting requirements and significantly enhances regulatory powers around oversight, enforcement and cost recovery.

While the legislation establishes a broad framework, much of the substantive detail will be set through secondary legislation, with consultations expected throughout 2025–26.

A reminder that Logistics UK has launched its annual Logistics Industry Survey

The survey seeks members’ views and experiences of the UK logistics industry and the current trading environment to provide insights on the level of current and future logistics activity.

Information collected is used at an aggregated level to present the contribution and achievements of the freight transport and logistics sector to the government, key stakeholders and wider public.

The findings form a key part of Logistics UK’s highly anticipated Logistics Report, due to be published in summer 2026.

All members who respond to the survey in full will receive a free copy of the complete Logistics Report 2026 as a thank you.

All members are encouraged to complete the survey here, before the closing date which is 31 January.

NaVCIS Freight Bulletin

The fortnightly NaVCIS Freight Crime Intelligence Bulletin provides relevant and up to date information and intelligence to police and the logistics industry for the prevention and detection of crime.

Average EU and UK forecourt prices

Please find the average EU and UK forecourt prices here.