The BVRLA has welcomed the publication of an independent review into the Sharing Economy.

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) tasked Debbie Wosskow to explore the social and economic potential of the sharing economy in the UK. Her report has now been published, and the BVRLA is delighted to see that many of its suggestions have been included as recommendations.

Since 1 October 2014, you no longer need to make a separate application on a V14 for a refund of vehicle tax. DVLA automatically issues a vehicle tax refund when a notification is received from the registered keeper that the:

• vehicle has been sold or transferred
• vehicle has been scrapped at an Authorised Treatment Facility
• vehicle has been exported
• vehicle has been removed from the road and the person on the vehicle register has made a Statutory Off Road Notification (SORN)
• registered keeper has changed the tax class on the vehicle to an exempt duty tax class

Customers should ensure that the dates of acquisition and/or disposal provided on the notification via the vehicle registration certificate (V5C or logbook), V5C/2 and V5C/3 are current and accurate. Incorrect information will affect the amount of refund calculated.

Taxing on behalf of a new keeperMotor traders are asked to ensure that if they tax a vehicle on behalf of a new keeper, the V5C/2 should be used at the point when sale is agreed. Details of the new keeper should be completed on the V5C and sent toDVLA. The V5C/2 should be passed to the new keeper.

FTA is helping raise awareness of the problem of sleep apnoea and how the condition can affect HGV drivers in their day-to-day work if not treated. 

Following a collaboration between the Freight Transport Association (FTA) and the OSA Partnership Group a partial Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC) module has been developed and will be available free of charge to both FTA and non-FTA members.  The training module has been specifically designed to help make more HGV drivers aware of the symptoms of sleep apnoea and the consequences of not seeking treatment.

To celebrate the start of the festive season, Hope Construction Materials, the UK’s largest independent supplier of construction materials, have rebranded six of their cement tankers with a Christmas present theme.

Their ‘Noel trucks’ will be running up and down the country throughout December delivering Hope cement and the company are inviting people to send in pictures of the trucks to be in with a chance to receive a surprise Christmas gift! 

Pictures should be sent to either amy.salisbury@hopeconstructionmaterials.com or louise.rhead-garlick@hopeconstructionmaterials.com alongside a postage address.

Clive Roberts, National Logistics Manager, said: “Christmas is a time of joy and giving and we’re looking forward to making deliveries to our customers across the country.

“It’s nice to see people’s reactions to the trucks whilst out and about on the roads and we’re hoping to spread as much festive cheer as possible in the coming weeks."

The Volvo FL - Volvo Trucks specialist in city distribution - is about to become even more productive. The compact 5-litre engine for Euro-6 is now added to the 14- and 16-tonne variants, which releases up to 200kgs extra payload. In addition, Volvo Trucks’ fleet management system, Dynafleet, can now be ordered directly from the factory.

“We want even more people to discover the capabilities of the Volvo FL. The new combination with a lighter driveline and higher load capacity is particularly suitable for those who have high demands on productivity and are looking for a cost-effective transport solution,” says John Comer, product manager for Volvo Trucks UK & Ireland.

Automotive Leasing and Dods research reveals commuting habits of public sector workers

The majority of NHS and local authority employees prefer driving to work despite short commutes, according to new research* from Automotive Leasing, the specialist public sector division of fleet management company LeasePlan.

According to the research, half (50%) of local government and NHS commuters use their car every day of the week – despite the fact that 86% said their commute took under an hour.

Leading fleet and asset management software company Jaama has donated a total of £260 to two charities following recent events.

Macmillan Cancer Support is to receive £200 and Help for Heroes will receive £60. The money was raised at Jaama’s recent 10th anniversary celebrations and its attendance at an industry seminar at which delegates were invited to place their business cards in the charity box of their choice with the company donating £5 for each one.

This year Jaama has continued to be the most recommended fleet management software supplier in the UK illustrated by a 16% increase in its customer portfolio following an 18% rise last year.

The vehicle rental industry is warning customers that the government’s plans to rush-through the abolition of the paper counterpart to the photocard driving licence in January 2015 could leave them facing increased costs or huge queues when picking up their vehicle.

The counterpart, which has been around since 1998, is being axed as part of the government’s drive to reduce red tape and bureaucracy. However, political pressure to speed up the process now means the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is set to renege on its promise to provide the vehicle rental industry with an affordable and workable alternative for checking the counterpart in real time.

Business mobility specialist Alphabet has launched a new LCV approved conversion partner network in the UK. Tony Long-Network Development Manager, stated that ‘The new network of suppliers enables Alphabet to deliver a consistent quality and approach to service levels and assists Alphabet in providing the most appropriate solutions at competitive prices’

The exclusive nationwide network comes into effect immediately and comprises of 12 approved LCV conversion suppliers. The network encompasses seven core categories; internal van provision, construction body and dry freight, minibus and wheelchair accessible vehicles, welfare vehicles, refrigerated vehicles, livery and media. 

Winning bidders for car club funding announced by transport minister.

Car club schemes across England received a huge boost today (25 December 2014) as Transport Minister Baroness Kramer announced the winning bidders for a share of £500,000 government funding. Over 50 new vehicles will now be available across car club demonstration projects in Derby, Nottingham, Norfolk and West Yorkshire, thanks to the awards.

Transport Minister for Scotland Keith Brown has announced over £3 million worth of funding to be allocated to bus projects across Scotland over the next two years.

Thirteen projects, including interchange hubs and community transport, will receive grants under the second round of Transport Scotland’s Bus Investment Fund (BIF).

The BIF encourages partnership working to help improve bus services, standards and infrastructure for communities across Scotland.

Revised criteria applies to existing haulage, bus and coach operators and new applicants.

The Office of the Traffic Commissioner has confirmed (20 November 2014) that operator licence applications and continuations will be processed at new financial levels from 1 December 2014.

Applicants and existing operators will be asked to produce evidence meeting the revised criteria in preparation for the 1 January 2015 deadline, when the new financial standing levels come into force.

DVLA is aware of problems with third party websites which appear to be legitimate government services, e.g. when customers are applying for a driving licence or taxing their car. Some sites exaggerate the nature of the services they provide or deliberately underplay the services that people can get for free or at a lower cost from official sources on GOV.UK.

These websites will claim to offer value-added services to ensure your application is correct before you send it to DVLA. However, using this service will mean you can end up paying as much as 3 times the normal price for your driving licence, and all you will receive is a paper application form that has been completed for you. DVLA carefully checks all driving licence applications received.

It may only be November, but winter has already started to exert its icy grip on the nation’s motoring routines. With roads that resemble rally stages and a sun that can barely be bothered to get higher than the hedgerows, the British driver has a lot to contend with at this time of year. Thankfully, ŠKODA has the perfect cure for the winter blues in the form of its broadest and most comprehensive 4x4 line-up to date.

As buyers have come to expect, all ŠKODA 4x4 models have been designed and engineered to thwart the harshest of winter conditions, and feature the very latest in all-wheel drive transmission technology.

Ford of Britain's wholly owned dealer group, TrustFord, is announcing the appointment of Steve Hood as Chief Operating Officer.

Steve Hood previously was the Strategy Director at the dealer group.  He has broad automotive experience and is returning to TrustFord following three years working as the Director of Sales Operations in Ford of Europe.  During his recent role he has been responsible for developing dealer network strategies in Europe and developing the retail experience for Ford customers.

The 40-seater Bio-Bus, which runs on gas generated through the treatment of sewage and food waste that’s unfit for human consumption, helps to improve urban air quality as it produces fewer emissions than traditional diesel engines. Running on waste products that are both renewable and sustainable, the bus can travel up to 300km on a full tank of gas generated at Bristol sewage treatment works – a plant run by GENeco, a subsidiary of Wessex Water.

As the pathway to acceptance of automated vehicles on the UK’s roads moves forward, so does TRL’s role in developing robust research tools to provide the necessary evidence as to the human response to automation and its general acceptance by the driving population.

Behind the scenes, TRL experts have been working on developing the software required to enable the transition of DigiCar to run as an automated vehicle as and when required.

As a result, Friday 14th November saw the birth of TRL’s full mission driving simulator, DigiCar, as a partially or fully automated vehicle.

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) has been voted Fleet Service Company of the Year in the prestigious 2014 ACFO Awards.

The DVLA was perhaps a surprise winner of the Award, but secured the most votes among ACFO members ahead of more than 20 other nominated service suppliers. Its success was recognition of the engagement with fleet decision-makers over the ongoing implementation of a range of online solutions for the corporate sector.

Meanwhile, the changing shape of the UK company car market was further reflected as Mercedes-Benz won the Fleet Car of the Year Award for the first time with the A-Class overcoming the challenge of almost 20 other models that received ACFO members’ votes.