Phillip
Stone - The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007
[Scared? - you should be ...] -
Regular readers of Despatches will know that we have pleaded, even begged at times for DA members especially but other courier companies as well to take great care in marking out their relationship with their subcontracted riders and drivers. You know the reasons why....
DA
Action for the Courier Industry - For members We were pleased to be the first port of call for a DA member who, having decided that the time was right to develop and expand his business, asked our opinion on drafts of his newly-revised online booking form and several other business documents, including his Terms and Conditions...
Money
News Consumer credit guidance -
The Office of Fair Trading has published revised guidance on fitness and requirements for Consumer Credit license holders and applicants, as well as a statement of policy on civil penalties for failure to comply with requirements...
Road Transport - Confusion over London loading -
The decision by some London boroughs to remove unlimited kerbside access before 11am will create confusion across the capital. While welcoming the London Councils’ decision to double the kerbside loading limit on yellow lines from 20 minutes to 40 minutes, the DA believes that the removal of unlimited access means that companies making early morning deliveries of over 40 minutes risk being fined...
Focus
on Business Migrant workers update -
The Border and Immigration Agency (BIA) is proposing a maximum penalty of £10,000 for organisations which do not make proper checks on prospective employees’ right to work in the UK. Additionally, there will be a new criminal offence of ‘knowing’, it carrying a maximum two-year prison sentence for employers who deliberately employ illegal workers...
End Piece - Questions questions -
This month’s guest contributor is The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (UK). This was their first news release for 2008.
Each week The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) produces an electronic newsletter containing a relevant, and at times, controversial poll. These polls have created heated feedback and a few raised eyebrows! To mark a year of these polls, the Institute reveals some of the results...
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The decision by some London boroughs to remove unlimited kerbside access before 11am will create confusion across the capital. While welcoming the London Councils’ decision to double the kerbside loading limit on yellow lines from 20 minutes to 40 minutes, the DA believes that the removal of unlimited access means that companies making early morning deliveries of over 40 minutes risk being fined. Moreover, the 33 boroughs are introducing the changes at different times. Westminster and Camden Councils have decided to allow 40 minutes after 11am and to allow loading and unloading for “as long as necessary” before 11am and after 6.30pm.
Highway Code republished -
The ‘bible’ has been republished with 29 new or amended rules. Some of these have to do with newly-introduced legislation on such matters as vehicle emissions and smoking in vehicles that are workplaces, as well as the new powers given to VOSA and the Highways Agency itself. In addition, some rules needed to change because of new initiatives such as high-occupancy lanes, home zones, quiet lanes and active traffic management schemes. An official interactive CD-rom is available and the contents of the new Code can be viewed online at www.direct.gov.uk/highwaycode.
Unblocking the motorways -
The government has announced that it plans to extend the Advanced traffic Management (ATM) scheme that allows hard-shoulder running on part of the M42 to other busy motorways as a way of squeezing out more capacity. The M42 scheme has allegedly reduced journey times, improved reliability and cut accidents, with drivers’ ability to predict their weekday times improving by 27% and fuel consumption falling by 4%. Which motorways have been targeted has yet to be decided, although the M25, M6, M4, M1 and M62 are the obvious suspects.
No future for hydrogen -
Hydrogen and fuel cells have no future as replacements for petrol or diesel in the immediate future claims James Woolsey, former CIA chief and now chairman of the US Advisory Board of the Clean Fuels Foundation. He said you have to bring down the cost of a fuel cell vehicle by a factor of about 40 or 50 to make it affordable. Instead, Woolsey sees a bright future for ‘plug-in’ hybrid electric vehicles - using both an electric motor and a conventional petrol or diesel engine, especially if vehicles did less than 40 miles per day.
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Unblocking the motorways -