RHA slams Government over Forum delay
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• The Road Haulage Association has accused the Government of delaying tactics following the decision that the Transport Industry Forum will not be convened again until the end of June.
RNA national chairman John Bridge believes that last month's ministerial changeover from John Reid to Helen Liddell is just an excuse for not acting, and that "it's now less likely for anything to happen".
Bridge had hoped for a meeting before the RE-IA board meeting on 24 June. The board could then have decided whether the Forum was worth sticking with—or whether the RHA should find another way to deliver its message.
"They've got to show that they genuinely intend to take some action on the fuel and VED problem," says Bridge. "If they don't we will have to re-assess what we do and how we put our message across. We just can't allow this to drag on. I had a letter from the minister saying the next meeting would be early to mid-June. I also wrote back expressing my disap
pointment that nothing has happened so far."
The Freight Transport Association says the delay is frustrating but inevitable following the change of ministers. "Having built up a strong relationship with Reid it's not quite going from square one but Liddell is entirely new to transport," says a spokesman.