Spotlight on a policy manager

Policy information underpins the activities of the wider Logistics UK policy team. In the policy information team we are responsible for compliance advice and information for members and evidence to support our policy positions, which has two main strands – member advice, and reports, surveys and data analysis.

The Member Advice Centre (MAC) receives thousands of calls and emails each year from members. Collectively, the team of advisors are a rich resource of knowledge about logistics regulation and compliance. Day to day they are dealing with high frequency topics such as drivers’ hours and tachographs, driver licensing and operator licensing, and also the more specialist or complex problems members are facing. The MAC advisors are an amazing team with considerable skills and a strong sense of purpose to give the best advice they can to members.

As well as speaking to members on a daily basis, the team is involved in various events; members might see them delivering papers to conferences or talking through compliance on Logistics UK’s member webinars, and they are a big feature of our Transport Manager events. This really adds value to members and we are currently looking at ways to make the team even more visible next year.

On the other side of the policy information team, we gather and analyse evidence which is then used in lots of different ways to increase the influence we have to represent members’ interests to government and other external stakeholders, and also provide information and explanation to members on cost and business topics. We gather this data through analysis of national statistics and other external reliable resources, as well as our own surveys with members. Since the pandemic, there is increasing appreciation of the value of reliable data, and we are seeing noticeably more sources of national data available as government invests in this area. We also invest in our own bespoke, high-quality analysis.

Together, this evidence and analysis are crucial in explaining to government why we are asking for policy changes. For example, we have been able to credibly demonstrate the scale and impact of the HGV driver shortage on the logistics sector; the consequences for the supply chain, employment and logistics costs. We’re more effective in influencing change for members if we can demonstrate why we are urging government and other stakeholders to act.

We also use this evidence and analysis to produce publications, such as our Skills and Employment Report. Another example is our Logistics Report, which is an authoritative source of statistics and information about the logistics sector. We are about to start work on the 2023 report, an important part of which is our annual Logistics Industry Survey, which we will be launching this January. Last year we also delivered our first Decarbonisation Report to help logistics businesses in their journey to net zero.

Additionally, we compile a Manager’s Guide to Distribution Costs subscription service which provides subscribers and contributors an annual report with quarterly updates. Essentially this is a budgeting tool to help users understand changes in costs of road freight operations. Members can become a contributor (the next opportunity is in April) and receive the full guide and update free of charge.

One of the integral threads running through the policy information team is the understanding that the information we produce must be of the right high quality and standard. Our advice, information and explanations need to be the best we can provide – whether that is through the MAC, in a report or in a magazine article.

In terms of our policy evidence base, we need to ensure we are asking the right questions and finding out the right things, but it also needs to be done it in an ethical, technically correct and legal way. We treat responses from members to our various evidence gathering surveys with great care and we really need members to continue to participate in these so we can provide the best representation on their behalf that we can.

Right now, my team is working on evidence gathering related to the consequences of rising energy costs, the Russian invasion of Ukraine on supply chains, and international trade on UK logistics. This week we have launched a survey on international trade, in particular between the UK and EU and NI, to help us understand the latest position following Brexit. My ask of members is that if you are an importer, exporter, or impacted by this topic, please respond to the survey. Your responses are vital to help our policy teams to understand where members’ biggest challenges are, why, and what actions are needed to make positive change. We use the responses we receive as a basis for our asks of government. Look out for the survey by email, in the weekly enews and also the Logistics Magazine.

As well as our surveys, please continue to use the MAC to answer your compliance questions and look out for the Skills and Employment report, launching in February, ahead of the Logistics Report which will be published in May. We are also revisiting our research on operating electric vehicles, so look out for a report on that in the new year too.

*www.logistics.org.uk/campaigns

Published On: 17/11/2022 16:00:04

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