Member Engagement
may have the desire to innovate but be lacking the skills or capacity to do so; this programme allows them to gain access to cutting- edge research. Stu Baker of Maritime Solent completed the meeting with an overview of its services and how it promotes the maritime sector through industry, academia and government engagement to help the Solent region become a world leading maritime cluster. London East At the London East meeting in early December, we were joined by Darren Wright from the charity Veterans into Logistics, which promotes the use of ex-military personnel as HGV drivers, with his own personal story providing an insightful video. Lexi Laybourne from DP World provided information about London Gateway port with performance metrics as well as updates on the inter-port train service, which now runs to Southampton five days per week. Berth 5 development was discussed and is due to open in 2027, as was Berth 6 and the BOXBAY project to store empty containers 16 high, which will provide additional capacity and efficiencies. CNS representative Peter Nicholls informed Members of the latest developments, including rollout of the compass system replacement to several smaller sites with larger sites like Southampton expected mid-2026. MCP was represented by Kieran Rodwell who would like Members to be involved in the beta testing of new system functionality; if interested, please contact the helpdesk. Weekly cybersecurity updates will now be run on a Monday at 21.00 hrs rather than on a Sunday. Border Force personnel spoke to Members about changes in the Thames command, namely more officers moving to London Gateway port. Piers Harrington from APHA advised the group that there was no further update on the EU reset and this was not expected now until 2027. Steve Higgon from City of London Port Health informed Members of the latest issues his team are facing, including the continuing problems with freight from Africa and specific issues with
many HMRC platforms were still causing significant workloads. FEDAT accepted the comments and will report this to HMRC. BIFA will continue to promote the need for single data point entry. Further guidance to clarify the delivery time window was promised by FEDAT. This will be circulated to Members. Andy Cooke from BIFA, and Mark Bellis and Claudia Carley from BT, gave an update on the Heathrow Cargo redevelopment programme, with the following key milestones for the Landside Efficiency Project now agreed: • 2025: Cargo Handler workshop completed in November; • 2025/2026: Community rules discussion; • 2026: Deployment of AIS; • 2026: Training (supported by BIFA); • 2025/2026/2027: Business change programme. The Cargo Handler Workshop in November provided detailed input on operational requirements for future AIS functionality and operational procedures. At the breakout sessions following the updates, Members contributed their views on the challenges and roadblocks to AIS implementation. This feedback will significantly help the construction of future AIS functionality and training. Robert Windsor from BIFA discussed with Members the review of the Standard Trading Conditions (STC), with particular focus on the advantages of the 2025 edition over the 2021 edition, and key points to consider when moving to the 2025 STC. Eight key documents to support Members on this topic are available on the BIFA website Updates on the latest from the policy groups were provided covering sustainability, customs, air freight, road, rail and key port activities and investments. Upcoming BIFA events and improving Member contact details accuracy and access to the BIFA website portal were shared along with the latest on training, notably the success of the Bitesize eLearning. New modules for Dangerous Goods and Sustainability will be released in January 2026.
Regional structure BIFA has regional representatives covering the UK and all meetings for the year ahead are listed on the BIFA website. Get in touch with your regional representative:
Northern England – Andrew Melton a.melton@bifa.org Central England – TBC
Scotland – Jack Rice j.rice@bifa.org
Southeast England – Paul Newman paul@pnauk.com
Northern Ireland – Shauneen McConville ShauneenM@tr- logistics.com
South & Southwest England – Paul Cunningham p.cunningham@bifa.org
spices from India containing high toxin levels. Denise Hill, member engagement director, updated attendees on recent policy group meetings as well as highlighting the revised 2025 STCs, which are available to use from December 2025. Heathrow The December Heathrow meeting opened with safety and security updates from the Border Force Freight Engagement and Data Acquisition Team (FEDAT) on levels of compliance for ENS declarations and GVMS. They reported that user compliance was high and that those carriers/intermediaries failing to address notified compliance issues were at risk of action from FEDAT. Members commented that multiple data entries across the
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