HFA talks duty with minister
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East Anglian members of the Hauliers and Farmers Alliance (HFA) met with Transport Minister Lord Whitty and two government officials last week.
Richard Mayes from Transanglia Freight says: "He offered us a sympathetic ear—although a sympathetic ear is one thing, actually doing something is quite another" The Issues of fuel duty and the Essential User Rebate dominated the conversation, according to Mayas, but other topics included the pressure of foreign competition; the government's proposals to help the industry; and the essential service haulage provides. Mayes adds: "I think the government is too frightened of how its colleagues in Europe will react, to do anything dramatic."
A Department of Transport spokesman says the meeting covered a lot of ground: "It enabled these chaps to get their point across to Lord Whiny, who was then in a position to point out how much has been done by the government since last year's protests,"