November/December Issue 59 - Flipbook - Page 7
Assist and Britannia Rescue I am
told are very proactive in this. Would
it be reasonable to ask all work
providers to follow their lead?
due to meet with representatives
from the UK Home Office, who at the
time indicated that they were also
keen to see this project taken on –
but then struck COVID-19 and our
I am unfortunately still hearing contacts at the Home Office were
reports from throughout the industry transferred to all matters COVID-19.
where passengers are remaining
within a casualty vehicle and are We are still applying pressure on the
being recovered to their destination Home Office to turn its eyes back
as opposed to the absolute nearest to this very important issue for our
place of safety – this is totally industry and our President, Stephen
incorrect, and it should not be the Smith is leading the charge on this
case. Indeed, in Scotland, Police and is in communication with the
Scotland will not even permit Home Office.
movement of passengers, within a
casualty vehicle, to a place of safety AVRO was successful in instigating
without their officers being at scene a review and change in legislation
to oversee.
in Scotland which resulted in an
average 23% increase and we
Having been involved in high level want to see the same success
discussions with NPCC, HSE, DVSA in England & Wales as well as a
and DfT it was stated clearly that comprehensive review of the whole
passengers must only be recovered, structure as well as the erosion of
within a casualty vehicle, to the the statutory fee from the operator
absolute nearest place of safety and to management companies and
no further – and as I say, in Scotland, the financial pressures that appear
not without Police Scotland present. to be presented and left on the
I am aware of several roadside shoulders of the recovery operator
recovery operators who have been – it cannot be allowed to continue as
issued with warnings and fixed it is, which is why AVRO is applying
penalty notices for not complying the pressure it is and insisting on a
with this – please do not be one of comprehensive review.
these operators.
Making News
Police Contacts
I am very proud of where we have
I was contacted recently by an AVRO brought AVRO News to and it is
member regarding statutory fees in ever becoming a very popular read
England & Wales and what AVRO by not only our members, but the
is doing to trigger a review of these, wider industry, suppliers and those
considering they have not been who need our services of who it is all
reviewed and more importantly not distributed to.
increased since 2008. Well, I can
tell you this is something that AVRO What is key to its success is
is committing a lot of time and effort yourselves, AVRO News is your
to this crucial matter, but it does magazine and its sole purpose is to
frustrate me to have to advise that highlight our members and industry
as with many things COVID-19 has – so if you have an article, your own
frustrated the process.
stories, experiences, hints, tips, or
anything of interest do not hesitate
In 2018 our President, Stephen to send it in, either to Sara (sara@
Smith, formed and instigated an avrouk.com) or myself (graham@
AVRO led statutory fee stakeholder avrouk.com) and we will happily
group and several very productive include it. So, if you have that
meetings were held with industry interesting recovery, new vehicle,
stakeholders and industry users. In a specialist piece of equipment
March 2020, as a group, we were or anything that will promote you,
your fellow members or the wider
industry then please do send it in to
AVRO and let’s get it out there and
into AVRO News.
Training Awareness
My final point to touch on this
month, this week I attended on
AVRO’s behalf a very productive
and informative meeting with The
Institute of Vehicle Recovery (IVR)
and although many topics were
covered including building the
strong working relationship AVRO
and the IVR have, but one matter
that was brought to my attention was
regarding training and specifically
some training providers who are
potentially
issuing
certification
that states the training given is to
NHSS17b standard, but then that
training provider is not accredited
to provide training to NHSS17b
standard.
The IVR (UK) is the administrator of
the NHSS17b training and anyone
providing training must be accredited
by IVR (UK) – so my point is to
remind all members to ensure that
when you are undertaking training,
ensure you are doing so with a
reputable trainer and that you do
your due diligence. I would not want
to see any of our members spend
exceptional amounts of money on
training only to find it is not worth
the paper it is written on. If in doubt
regarding NHSS17b training, please
do not hesitate to contact the
IVR(UK) on 01895 436426 or visit
their website: www.theivrgroup.com.
With that, I hope you enjoy this
month’s edition of AVRO News, a
lot of hard work goes into producing
it and ensuring that it is informative
and representative of our members
and industry.
Stay safe, stay positive and as
always if I can be of assistance,
please do not hesitate to contact
me.
All the best,
Graham
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