Steve Parker’s Column
Business Leaders Forum success L et’s kick off this issue’s director general column by re fl ecting on the BIFA Business Leaders Forum, which took place on 12 May. It was our 6th forum and the best attended.
BIFAlink is the official magazine of the British International Freight Association Redfern House, Browells Lane, Feltham TW13 7EP Tel: 020 8844 2266 (A company limited by guarantee. Registered in England: 00391973. VAT Registration: 216476363) Director General Steve Parker s.parker@bifa.org Member Policy, Compliance & External Affairs Director Pawel Jarza p.jarza@bifa.org Member Support Director Spencer Stevenson s.stevenson@bifa.org Member Services Director Carl Hobbis c.hobbis@bifa.org Member Engagement Director Denise Hill d.hill@bifa.org Senior Policy Advisor – Ocean & Legal matters Robert Windsor r.windsor@bifa.org Policy & Compliance Advisor – Customs Igor Popovics i.popovics@bifa.org Policy & Compliance Advisor – Sustainable Logistics Jamie McKean j.mckean@bifa.org Head of Digital Communications & Events Dawn White d.white@bifa.org Communications Manager Natalie Pitts n.pitts@bifa.org Editorial Co-ordinator Sharon Hammond s.hammond@bifa.org Membership Supervisor Sarah Milton s.milton@bifa.org Web site: www.bifa.org E-mail: bifa@bifa.org Published by Park Lane Publishing peter@parklanepublishingltd.com Contributors Steve Parker, Robert Windsor, Spencer Stevenson, Carl Hobbis, Sharon Hammond, Igor Popovics, Denise Hill, Pawel Jarza, Natalie Pitts, Jamie McKean Note to media: If you wish to use items in this magazine that are older than one month, please contact the editorial co- ordinator to ensure that the item in question still reflects the current circumstances. Please be advised that BIFA DOES NOT OFFER LEGAL ADVICE. BIFA is not a law firm and the authors of this publication are not legally qualified and do not have any legal training. The guidance and assistance set out herein are based on BIFA’s own experience with the issues concerned and should not be in any circumstances regarded or relied upon as legal advice. It is strongly recommended that anyone considering further action based on the information contained in this publication should seek the advice of a qualified professional.
We were able to find speakers on all the key topics that are impacting our industry at the moment and each of them brought something to our forum that will help as we move forward. We had sessions on air, ocean, road, the border, AI, HR and politics, as well as a BIFA update. There were interesting outputs from each session, and the programme was well received by the attendees.
I would like to emphasise a couple of issues raised during the event. First is the request I made about the issues in the Middle East. BIFA is doing all we can to keep our Members up to date, but if there is an area that we have not covered and you would like us to, then please let me know. The other came out of the session with Ian Wilkins from HMRC. He explained to those in attendance that following the last upgrade of CDS there were Members calling him complaining about issues and delays with their declarations. He found this difficult to accept as the changes to CDS were highlighted weeks in advance. An episode of BIFA TV about the major changes and their impact on BIFA Members aired on our YouTube channel well in advance of the upgrade, yet some had not taken notice. Another release about CDS is planned for this month, so please ensure that you are registered to receive BIFA communications and look out for another episode of BIFA TV on this and make sure you watch it when it comes out. What does June bring? This month we welcome Allie Renison to our association. Allie joins us to lead our work with government. Many of you will have heard Allie speak at either our Business Leaders Forum or our conference, or indeed within in the broadcast media. Allie has an extensive network of people in politics, and we are looking forward to being able to further raise our profile with politicians on all sides of the house. Member engagement June also brings our largest number of regional meetings in any month. I will be attending as many as I can, and I would encourage you, or one of your team, to take some time to be part of these meetings. At the end of the month and into July the Multimodal 2026 will take place. I plan to be there for all three days and look forward to seeing as many of you as possible. By now, you should know where the BIFA Forwarder Village is located, and I will be more than happy to meet you.
Director General
June 2026 | 3
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