More than Ł14 million in joint Government and industry funding to boost innovation and working conditions in freight

MORE green e-cargo bikes will deliver parcels to people's doorsteps and better truckstops will help relieve local congestion, thanks to a Ł14 million boost from both Government and industry to drive innovation in freight and improve working conditions.

The Future of Roads Minister, Lilian Greenwood, revealed the 23 successful applicants of up to Ł4.5 million from the Government to improve truckstops and working conditions for lorry drivers.

From Immingham Lorry Park in Lincolnshire to Embassy Truck Park in Kent, the upgrades include:- 430 new lorry parking spaces to relieve local congestion by helping reduce the number of large trucks parking in Town centres or on the side of the road.

The investment will also help build better dining, changing and rest facilities, as well as new CCTV and secure fencing to boost welfare and security for lorry drivers.

The funding is from the third year of the HGV parking and driver welfare grant scheme, which will come in addition to Ł8 million from industry, for a total funding boost of Ł12.5 million to improve truckstops.

This investment comes on top of Ł1.8 million from the Government for 10 Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to trial new groundbreaking technology for decarbonising freight and driving innovation in the sector.

Examples of ground breaking ideas that will become reality include:- TUAL working with Wincanton and Sainsbury's to trial high performance charging for electric lorries, and Innervated Vehicle Engineering working in partnership with ASDA to retrofit hydrogen power to small delivery vans.

This funding is the 3rd tranche of the Department's Freight Innovation Fund (FIF) Accelerator Programme, a Ł7 million Government investment across 3 years to support the freight sector in deploying AI and automation to improve the way trains, lorries, vans, and ships carry parcels and goods.

The measures will help the Government achieve its core mission of getting the country back on track for growth. They will improve working conditions for lorry drivers while pioneering innovation and sustainability across freight to strengthen the UK's supply chain and support jobs across the country.

The announcement comes ahead of the International Investment Summit which will gather UK leaders, high-profile investors and businesses from across the world to discuss how we can deepen our partnership to drive investment and growth.

Future of Roads Minister Lilian Greenwood said:- "Freight is a crucial engine of our economy, and it is only right we do all we can to improve working conditions, pioneer innovation and drive sustainability across the industry. Our funding, combined with investment from the industry, will ensure lorry drivers can enjoy safer parking, a proper rest and a warm meal, while supporting UK businesses harvest the best of technology to move freight faster, decarbonise our supply chain, and grow the economy for all."

The Ł12.5 million for truckstops follows Ł31 million in previous joint Government and industry funding as part of earlier application windows.

Together with National Highways Lorry Parking Facilities Improvements Scheme, this takes the total joint investment from the Department and the sector to improve lorry roadside facilities to up to Ł64 million.

The funding will be spread across England to ensure all lorry drivers in the country can benefit from better roadside facilities and better working conditions, while supporting local jobs and economic growth.

RHA Director of Policy & Public Affairs, Declan Pang:- "We are delighted to see funding allocated to drive improvements to standards and capacity at lorry parks and truck stops across England. The grant scheme continues to be a very welcome commitment from Government and the industry to bring about much-needed improvements for lorry drivers who are a vital workforce in keeping the country's supply chains moving. We look forward to seeing the impact of these investments in improving conditions and driver welfare."

The Freight Innovation Fund is providing highly successful in fostering industry investment, as UK businesses from the 1st year of the fund have so far raised Ł97 million in additional capital to fund their innovative projects.

Delivered by Connected Places Catapult, the Freight Innovation Fund will give SMEs access to technical and business support from the organisation to develop new ground-breaking projects.

Erika Lewis, Chief Executive Officer at Connected Places Catapult, said:- "Building on the success of the Freight Innovation Fund to date, I'm very pleased to welcome a third cohort of high potential innovators onto the Accelerator. This programme gives bespoke support to SMEs, working hand-in-hand with industry as they trial their solutions in real-world environments. By supporting new ideas in freight, we are helping to unlock the sector's potential to be greener and more efficient."

Drive to make UK a 'clean energy' superpower poses policy and political challenges for Ministers

THE new UK Government has made a "vigorous" start on climate action, but its approach has created policy gaps and potential political problems, according to a University of Manchester environmental politics expert.

In a new article published by Policy@Manchester, Professor Matthew Paterson references a series of legislative initiatives already in progress including:- to create Great British Energy, reform the Crown Estate and promote the use of sustainable aviation fuel.

Professor Matthew Paterson said:- "Beyond legislation, the approval of new solar plants, rescinding the ban on onshore wind, expanding financing for renewable energy and announcing relaxation of planning rules for future renewable energy projects, all signify a more rapid start than most commentators anticipated."

Professor Paterson explains that framing these measures as making the UK a:- 'clean energy superpower' entails 2 interconnected ways of focusing climate policy action.

Professor Matthew Paterson explained:- "Firstly is the focus on energy security; an argument that enhanced climate action can also address the risks to the UK energy system made acute by Russia invading Ukraine, The rationale for aggressively pursuing renewable energy has been to show that it can detach UK energy prices from world natural gas prices and thus from the risks of global crises. Secondly, it is framed in terms of industrial innovation and investment. The creation of Great British Energy, but also reforms to the Crown Estate and the creation of the national wealth fund, all are driven by a concern about under-investment not only in (renewable) energy, but the economy more generally."

The University of Manchester academic argues that this approach signifies the new Government's decision to integrate climate policy deeply into its overall political and economic strategy., but, in his piece, he warns of several future challenges Ministers must face, including:- on the climate aspects of transport and the energy demand side within buildings, especially housing.

Professor Paterson remind readers:- "The Warm Homes Plan was an integral element of the overall strategy in the manifesto. This would involve noticeable investments (the manifesto mentioned Ł6.6bn over the life of the Parliament) in retrofitting housing to achieve energy demand reductions. Delivering climate policy benefits whilst addressing energy poverty and housing-related health inequalities., but this has been little mentioned since the election."

Professor Paterson also highlights the vital role Great British Energy is set to play in generating investment in:- 'clean energy,' stimulating industrial innovation and creating jobs.

Professor Paterson added:- "Presently the UK imports the vast majority of renewable energy capacity; solar panels, wind turbines, EV batteries, and all the components involved in making those back to mining the key minerals involved. 'Onshoring' much more of this production could deliver huge economic benefits in terms of jobs and investment., but when the Government talks about the details of what GBE will do, it focuses almost exclusively on the installation of renewable energy capacity; the wind turbines generating:- 'clean' electricity for the UK. This is crucial to keep emissions going down, but limits economic benefits the UK could get from such a strategy that will make it sustainable in the face of political challenges."

Concluding his article, Professor Paterson warns Ministers of the need to devise a strategy to counter the ongoing backlash against climate policy in the UK.

He explained:- "While in recent years this has been focused on EVs, heat pumps and fracking, the looming tension is over expansion of electricity infrastructure. The Conservative Government had in fact already announced major investments in such infrastructure in early 2024. This is integral to the electrification of home heating, transport, and industry; electricity capacity is estimated to need to be triple current capacity to achieve this. Focusing more on reducing demand mitigates this problem by reducing overall energy consumption, but only to an extent. We have already seen an emerging backlash against this that the Government will have to manage and respond to."

Clean energy superpower; and climate action kryptonite' by Professor Matthew Paterson is available to read on the University of Manchester's website.

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More than Ł14 million in joint Government and industry funding to boost innovation and working conditions in freight

Drive to make UK a 'clean energy' superpower poses policy and political challenges for Ministers