CONTINUED CO-OPERATION
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This letter has been sent by new transport minister Gus MacDonald to the director general of the Freight Transport Association, Lawrence Christensen.
• Thank you for your letter to Helen Liddell of 20 July, on behalf of yourself and John Bridge, national chairman of the Road Haulage Association.
I am very much looking forward to working with you both, especially in the road haulage forum. I understand that the next meeting has been fixed for 6 September and I hope to have the pleasure of seeing you then.
It was unfortunate that a delayed flight caused Helen Liddell's late arrival at the last forum meeting on 19 July. Larry Whitty is well aware of the importance of the competitiveness issue, and for that reason decided to turn the agenda round so as to deal with the less important issues before Helen arrived. I am sure you will appreciate that, and that you will agree that we need to move on from any misunderstandings that may have been caused by that unavoidable rearrangement.
I know how important the issue of competitiveness is to the haulage industry and I recognise your concerns. However, I also share the view of Helen Liddell, and John Reid before her, that it is essential to understand the problems in depth before we can consider solutions. I understand that work by officials has made it clear that there is more at issue here than simply UK VED and fuel duty—although they are important. My impression, coming new to the subject, is that a great deal of necessary work has been done by all our officials and that this work is progressing as fast as it reasonably can. That work is based on close co-operation, and I agree with the view which I understand that both Helen and Patricia Hewitt expressed on 19 July that our officials' own figures and analysis should be discussed as well as the industry's.
You asked Helen to put pressure on our Treasury colleagues to understand and respond to the urgency of the situation. Patricia Hewitt was. of course, at the meeting and I shall copy your letter and this reply to her successor, Melanie Johnson. Both our Departments are working together to ensure that fiscal decisions are based on the best possible understanding of, and, information about, the road haulage industry. But as both John and Helen made clear, there can be no question of going back on the decisions in this year's Budget.
Government and industry have co-operated very well so far in the work of the Forum, and for my part I want to continue that co-operation. However, I must add that overt confrontation from sections of the industry—such as we saw in London on 26 July—does make that more difficult. I appreciate that the ETA has never advised its members to demonstrate, and am grateful for your responsible attitude. I do hope, however, that the next meeting of the Forum will not have the shadow of threats of action hanging over it.
Gus MacDonald, House of Commons.