2018-2019 North East Partnership Programme

Each year, the Freight Partnership produces a plan setting out how we will take forward our freight strategy over the next 12 months. The Plan for 2018/19 contains a number of tasks which are listed below.

Task A – Project Management

· Organise quarterly Partnership meetings

· Prepare and circulate agenda

· Prepare power point (Develop a fresh new slide design)

· Circulate minutes

· Write half yearly and annual progress reports

· Attend monthly progress meetings to discuss the tasks undertaken or completed

· On-going monitoring of tasks – budget and quality

Task B – Fleet Operator Recognition Scheme (FORS)

Continuation of Recruitment programme

· Arranged, promoted and delivered 10 practitioner workshops

· Provision of a local authority transport manager workshop and ongoing advice

· Promotion of FORS at quarterly meetings and through the marketing team

· Work with North East authorities through the use of a dedicated relationship manager

· Monitor and report on the progress of schemes in the North East

· Liaise with the FORS Community Partnership (FCP) to assist the delivery of schemes in the region

Task C – Review of Mapping

The suite of online destination maps which have previously been continually updated will be date marked and reviewed in order to:

• Validate the value of online destination maps available through stakeholder consultation
• Promote use of the maps through institutions (i.e. Road Haulage Association, Freight Transport Association, etc.)

Task D – Freight on Rail

· Create an agreed strategy to encourage development and use of rail freight in the region

· Facilitate the biannual Rail Partner Group meetings

· Create a dedicated rail freight webpage on the Rail Partner Group website

Task E – Water Freight Group

· Development of a Water Freight Working Group

· Circulate outcomes from the Working Group

Task F – Safety of the Vulnerable Road User

· Develop and update best practice material online

· Provision of three fully funded Safe Urban Driving/VanSmart courses

Task G - Promoting the Partnership and Information Exchange

· Facilitate a series of meetings with interested parties

· Develop and distribute a newsletter bi-annually

· Production of an annual leaflet housed on the Partnership’s website

· Actively manage the Partnership’s Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook accounts and pages

Task H – Partnership Information

· Update website periodically

· Review the use of two Truck Information Points (TIP)

· Circulate newsflashes by email in addition to publishing on the website

· Monitor benefits of the Partnership

Task I – Driver / Operator of the Year Award

· Promote nominations and select the Driver of the Year Award

· Promote nominations and select the Operator of the Year Award

Task J – University /Student Liaison

· Provide support and work experience for three or more NewRail/Northumbria students

· Present progress at Partnership meetings

Task K – Driver Skills and Recruitment

· Facilitation of at least two skills groups meetings

· Establish a Terms of Reference for the core skills group

· Attend stakeholder events

· Progress the action plan

Task L –Liaison with Transport for the North

· Attend Transport for the North events

· Provision of data and information when requested and where possible

Task M –Additional Funding Sources

· Secure increased funding for the Partnership

· Undertake and complete additional and enhanced tasks

Additional Task - Use of technology and new ideas in ITS to benefit logistics

· Review of available and future ITS technology

· Assessment of its applicability to the North East

Additional Task - Investigate the impacts of Brexit on freight and how it is transported in the region

· Report into Brexit and how it may impact on the North East Freight and logistics sector