Policy & Compliance
In March and April, BIFA regional representatives met with members from Middlesbrough in the North to Dover in the South. Check https://bifa.org/events/ for the next meeting near you Meeting our Members
offices. As with other meetings in the north, Andrew provided the meeting with updates from the BIFA policy groups, details of BIFA Bitesize training and the ongoing member engagement work with Oomi, BIFA’s membership database. Members discussed the situation in the USA and the issues around validation of data in CDS, while Jon Booth gave a presentation of the facilities offered by AV Dawson in the port of Middlesbrough. SOUTHERN ENGLAND East London – 27 March and Kent & East Sussex – 2 April Hosted by Regional Representative Paul Newman, the lead presentation at both the London East and Kent & East Sussex meetings was by Border Force covering the UK S&S requirements on EU truck traffic. Also on the agendas were updates from the policy group meetings and local updates from Port Health. Gatwick – 20 March Paul Cunningham hosted the Gatwick meeting online and provided updates on the approval of the Gatwick Northern Runway Extension and the Heathrow Cargo redevelopment programme. Border Force ran a Q&A session enabling Members to directly ask the Head of Freight Engagement and Data (FEDAT) detailed questions on the new S&S procedures. AI and cyber security presentations were made by iCustoms and Albacore Systems, respectively, highlighting key opportunities and risks.
P ersonnel from all BIFA Members are welcome to attend regional meetings where they will hear updates from BIFA policy groups, other BIFA activity regionally, nationally and internationally, and from the guest speakers on a range of topics. All face-to-face meetings include the opportunity to network and discuss the issues of the day over light refreshments. NORTHERN ENGLAND Andrew Melton is the regional representative for Northern England and the Midlands and hosts regular meetings across the region. Here he reports on meetings held in Liverpool, Manchester and Middlesbrough. Liverpool – 18 March BIFA Member ACL Grimaldi hosted the Liverpool meeting at its offices on Duke Street, Liverpool, welcoming other BIFA Members with breakfast sandwiches. John Perry of ACL welcomed Members to the meeting and gave a presentation about the history of ACL in Liverpool and the services offered by ACL Grimaldi Worldwide. Andrew Melton introduced guest speakers: • Lindsey Shentall of RailEx, • The Home Office Border Force
Intelligence Branch, • Carl Hobbis, BIFA Member Services Director. Manchester – 19 March Almost 30 Members attended the Manchester meeting where they discussed the potential impact of the delayed EU EES requirements and raised concerns about the global impact of the rhetoric on trade tariffs emanating from the Trump administration in the US. Guest speakers at this meeting were: • Lindsey Shentall of RailEx, • Bertie Atkinson of Albacore Systems, • Carl Hobbis, BIFA Member Services Director. At the last Manchester meeting, Ian Mallon of Neon Freight Ltd advised that he would be standing down from the role of regional chair. Vice chair Andy Attwood of EMS Cargo Ltd put his name forward for the role and those present agreed to accept his nomination for the role of chair. Manchester is now looking for nominations for vice chair. Middlesbrough – 8 April A small but select group of Members attended the meeting hosted by Jon Booth of AV Dawson Ltd in the meeting room on the top floor of its
“ All face-to- face meetings include the opportunity to network and discuss issues of the day over light refreshments
BIFA utilises a network of Regional Representatives around the UK to act as a conduit for the dissemination of information and to seek local Member views on topics of interest. Forthcoming meetings are listed here. If there is no event listed in your region see www.bifa.org/events for future dates or contact your local Regional Representative: London West, the South & the South West – Paul Cunningham Support your local Member group
Region
Date
Venue
Southwest, Avonmouth Northwest, Manchester
Tue 3 Jun
Davies Turner, Bristol
Thu 12 Jun Mantra Learning, Manchester
Gatwick
Thu 12 Jun Online (MS Teams)
Northeast, Humber
Tue 24 Jun TBC Tue 24 Jun TBC
Anglia
Heathrow
Thu 26 Jun Kempton Park Racecourse, Sunbury-on-Thames
Northern Ireland – Shauneen McConville shauneenm@tr- logistics.com BIFA Young Forwarder Network FREE networking and information events for younger team members, see www.bifa.org/events
p.cunningham@bifa.org Scotland and the Borders – Chris Curtin c.curtin@bifa.org Northern England and the Midlands – Andrew Melton a.melton@bifa.org Anglia, London East & South East - Paul Newman paul@pnauk.com
22 | May 2025
www.bifa.org
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