FTA claim London politicians ‘abandon’ logistics sector
The reintroduction of the London Lorry Control Scheme and raising the London Congestion Charge is a “sucker punch” to the logistics sector according to the FTA, who have been calling for freight to be exempt from these types of schemes as the sector strives to recover from the impact of COVID-19.
The head of urban policy at the FTA, Natalie Chapman, has accused local and national politicians of abandoning the sector. She said “It appears that politicians at a national and local level have all forgotten the vital role which logistics workers have played in keeping our cities and businesses stocked with everything they need. The latest round of punitive taxes, re-imposed with little or no notice on those working hard to keep the country trading, totally ignore the work of our sector, and feel like a sucker punch to businesses which have themselves felt the impact of the outbreak on their trading performance.”
She went on to say ““Rather than reintroducing the London Lorry Control Scheme and putting the London Congestion Charge back into action overnight, at an inflated price and for longer hours, surely our politicians should be working to assist the businesses in their area to continue working as the economy cranks back to life?”
With regards to the reintroduction of the schemes, Chapman has questioned the timing, saying “In our opinion, freight should be exempt from schemes such as the Congestion Charge, and should certainly not be fighting above inflation price increases brought in at the eleventh hour – there is little alternative to road access to supply the capital and other big cities with the products and services its businesses need to kickstart their recovery. This is simply a stealth tax on those who only weeks ago were deemed ‘essential’ to the country’s recovery – how quickly they forget.”
The FTA have confirmed that they have written to Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, to express their members disappointment at the reintroduction and extension of the London Congestion Charge but advised they are yet to receive a response.
