Public Affairs monitoring for week ending 17 April 2026

Iranian Foreign Minister declares Strait of Hormuz open; Logistics UK asks Chancellor for package of support

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on 17 April that the Strait of Hormuz is “declared completely open” for the “remaining period of ceasefire.” US President Donald Trump responded by thanking the Iranian regime but added that the US naval blockade of Iran will continue “until such a time as our transaction with Iran is 100% complete,” in a reference to diplomatic negotiations.

Keir Starmer addressed Parliament on 13 April to outline his government’s response to the conflict, including pursuing a closer economic relationship, increasing UK energy security with a transition away from fossil fuels, and strengthening defence. Starmer is due to host, on 17 April, a leaders’ summit to discuss a diplomatic solution and military planning to create a stable shipping line after the Strait of Hormuz is reopened. The meeting is due to take place today with around 40 countries and the International Maritime Organisation.

Logistics UK wrote to Chancellor Rachel Reeves on 15 April to urge her to deliver a package of support to help manage logistics costs and the resulting risk of inflation. In addition to our previous call for the Chancellor not to begin increasing fuel duty in September, we are calling for:

• Logistics to be included in the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme (BICS) to cut electricity costs.
• Full expensing to be extended to cover leased zero-emission commercial vehicles.
• An incentive for logistics businesses to use liquid low-carbon fuels.
• Recent business rate increases to be reversed.
• Logistics to be formally recognised as a priority fuel user within resilience planning.

We also met with senior business advisors to the Prime Minister at 10 Downing Street, where we highlighted the challenges and opportunities facing the logistics sector and pressed the case to postpone the planned 5ppl increase in fuel duty.

In addition, we have made clear that we do not condone on-road protests about rising fuel costs, which cause disruption not only to logistics businesses but also to all other road users and consumers.

Logistics UK has a three-point strategy for supporting members during this crisis: sharing with members what we are hearing from government and others; informing government and other key stakeholders of the impact of the conflict on our sector; and urging government to provide support to our sector to manage the crisis.

To support this, we are collecting member feedback via the Logistics Performance Tracker survey, with responses informing the insight we are sharing with government. Please complete our short survey on SurveyMonkey here or via Microsoft Forms here as soon as possible.

Read our latest Middle East update here which includes data on fuel prices.

UK could adopt legislation to enable “dynamic alignment” with some EU rules

Ministers are planning to introduce legislation that would enable “dynamic alignment” with some EU rules without a full vote in Parliament, the BBC reported on 13 April.  According to those reports, a new bill required to enact the SPS agreement, which is currently being negotiated between the UK and the EU, will contain powers that mean further change in UK laws to remain aligned with the EU would only require secondary legislation.

The legislation is expected to be unveiled in the King’s Speech on 13 May, which sets the agenda for the next parliamentary session. Opposition parties criticised the government arguing such a move would be undemocratic and bring the UK back under EU control.

New personnel in DBT logistics team, alongside changes at DfT

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) logistics team, which Logistics UK regularly engages with, has been restructured to include aviation. The new team will be headed up by Flavio Menghini with Frank Cussen leading on logistics. Wendy Richards has moved into another role in the wider team at DBT.

Meanwhile, the Department for Transport (DfT) has moved responsibility for road freight skills policy from the Freight and Borders Directorate to the Road Freight Division. As a result, the Freight Workforce Group, of which Logistics UK was a member, will be discontinued. While this marks the end of a formal forum for sector collaboration, the DfT has highlighted the value of the work produced so far. The Freight Council will continue as the main government-sector engagement body, of which Logistics UK is a member.

These changes are partly driven by a reduction in headcount across the civil service.

Also this week

Government

• Prime Minister Keir Starmer came under renewed political pressure on 16 April after it was revealed that Lord Mandelson had failed security vetting for the role of US ambassador. In response, Keir Starmer said he was not aware of the failed vetting until this week, and Sir Oliver Robbins has left his post as the most senior civil servant at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office.
• The Department for Transport launched a consultation on 13 April focused on proposals to update the minimum emission standard to Euro 7 for new cars, vans, trucks, buses and coaches. The consultation closes on 25 May 2026, and Logistics UK will be responding.
• The Department for Transport announced on 14 April that local highway authorities that fail to demonstrate effective road maintenance could lose around a third of their £1.6 billion funding the following year. Logistics UK welcomed the announcement after pushing the government to take a proactive approach to road maintenance.
• HM Treasury and DBT announced on 16 April that the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme (BICS) will be expanded to cover an extra 3,000 manufacturers when it begins in April 2027, taking the supported number of businesses to 10,000. BICS will exempt eligible businesses from the indirect costs of three electricity schemes: the Renewables Obligation, Feed-in Tariffs, and the Capacity Market. Logistics UK will respond to the consultation, which closes on 14 May, and will call for logistics businesses to be included within the scheme.
• Logistics UK submitted its response to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) consultation on accelerating electricity network connections on 15 April, making the case for logistics to be recognised as strategic demand.

Parliament

• Lord Moylan (Conservative) asked an oral question on rail freight in the House of Lords on 13 April, where he and others made the case for better embedding rail freight growth within the Railways Bill, and infrastructure interventions to benefit freight were also raised.
  • Lord Moylan asked what progress has been made towards the target to increase rail freight by 75% by 2050, and whether this target is properly embedded in the Railways Bill. Rail Minister Lord Hendy committed to the target, citing funding support schemes and confirmed the target in the Bill as a statutory requirement, which is intended to protect existing and future freight paths.
  • Lord Berkeley (Labour) asked how GBR can fairly allocate track access when it controls infrastructure and runs passenger services. Lord Hendy replied stating the Bill gives GBR clear authority to allocate capacity fairly, with safeguards to protect rail freight through the statutory growth target.
  • Baroness Pidgeon (Lib Dem) called for the government to electrify the railway line to London Gateway to boost freight capacity. Lord Hendy replied saying Network Rail is funding studies, and that electrification and level crossings are being discussed with DP World and local authorities.
  • Lord Redwood (Conservative) called for digital signalling to be accelerated to increase network capacity for freight. Lord Hendy agreed, highlighting the East Coast Main Line digital signalling programme.
  • Viscount Thurso (Lib Dem) asked whether greater use of palletised freight and freight hubs is needed to achieve meaningful rail freight growth. Lord Hendy agreed that intermodal and container traffic are central to growth and said the government is actively supporting freight hubs and terminals.
  • Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative) asked when upgrades to Haughley and Ely junctions would be delivered. Lord Hendy replied saying funding has not yet been secured due to high costs, but work is ongoing to improve the business case.
  • Lord Faulkner of Worcester (Labour) asked whether the government supports tri-mode freight locomotives to improve flexibility across the network. Lord Hendy welcomed new tri-mode Class 99 locomotives, saying modern rolling stock will help overcome infrastructure constraints and support freight growth.

• There was a House of Commons Adjournment Debate on the Dualling of the A21 led by Dr Kieran Mullan MP (Conservative, Bexhill and Battle) on 14 April.
  • Dr Mullan called for dualling south of Pembury due to congestion, safety concerns, frequent closures and unsuitable diversion routes. Minister for Roads and Buses Simon Lightwood acknowledged the A21’s strategic importance and safety issues but said dualling is not included in the current Road Investment Strategy and is not planned due to cost, complexity and environmental impacts.
  • Helena Dollimore MP (Labour, Hastings and Rye) raised concerns about disruption during incidents, particularly poor management of overnight closures and diversions by National Highways. Simon Lightwood agreed this was an issue and committed to raising diversion and closure management with National Highways.
• Logistics UK CEO Ben Fletcher met with Mike Reader MP (Labour, Northampton South) at Wickes’s Northampton Distribution Centre at Brackmills.
• Logistics UK Public Affairs Manager Dominic Aeissame attended the APPG on Rail’s session on ‘High-speed horizons: WCML to Scotland services and HS2 integration’ on 13 April. The session was chaired by Martin Vickers MP (Conservative, Brigg and Immingham) and attended by Ruth Cadbury MP (Labour, Brentford and Isleworth), Lord Faulkner (Labour), and Lord Moylan (Conservative). Rail industry expert Chris Gibb called for replacing the current train stock with longer trains, creating more capacity for freight and passenger journeys across the network.

Local, regional & devolved

• The Scottish National Party (SNP) launched its manifesto on 16 April for the upcoming Holyrood election, in which it pledged to cap the price of “essential” foods by claiming rising costs makes it a public health issue. On transport, SNP would invest in the transport network including the A9, A96, create a £350m fund to tackle potholes, and absorb Transport Scotland into the Scottish Government, along with other national transport bodies.
• Scottish Labour launched its manifesto on 13 April for the upcoming Holyrood election. The party wants to create a National Transport Connections Plan; establish £350m potholes and road maintenance fund; merge CMAL and CalMac into a single public ferry agency; upgrade the road network by dualling the A9 and making a business case for the A77 and A74’s dualling; and, continued rail electrification.
• Logistics UK CEO Ben Fletcher and Senior Policy Manager Alexandra Herdman met with Transport Scotland CEO Alison Irvine and Director of the Environment, Climate and Sustainability Morna Cannon on 15 April. Irvine said improvements will be made to the A75, but it would not be dualled. Irvine also expressed that due to changing geopolitical conditions, Transport Scotland is open to exploring opportunities around low carbon fuels.
• Logistics UK and 20 other business groups signed a joint letter on 13 April, spearheaded by the Confederation of Business Industry (CBI) to Dr Caoimhe Archibald MLA, Minister for the Economy, in which we raised concerns about the Northern Ireland (NI) Employment Rights Bill.
• Logistics UK submitted its response to the Northern Ireland Department for Infrastructure’s consultation on proposed changes to regulations to support the uptake of zero emission goods vehicles (ZEGVs). Logistics UK’s response supports increasing the category B ZEGV weight limit in NI.
• The Welsh Liberal Democrat Party launched its manifesto on 14 April for the upcoming Senedd election. On transport it wants rural Wales added to the Rural Fuel Duty Relief Scheme, and investment to repair roads, upgrade infrastructure on the North and South Wales mainlines, and to devolve Air Passenger Duty.

Other

• The Port of Dover announced on 14 April that it has achieved its goal of carbon net zero emissions (Scope 1 and 2), at least five years ahead of any other UK port target, and 25 years ahead of the UK’s maritime target.
• East West Rail launched a consultation on 14 April ahead of a Development Consent Order on proposals for infrastructure upgrades to its network, with plans to accommodate freight meaning implications for network capacity, decarbonisation and supply chain resilience.

Coming up

• The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Maritime and Ports is hosting a roundtable: “Strengthening UK Maritime Trade and Port Resilience in a Time of Global Insecurity” on Monday 20 April, 4:30pm – 5:30pm, Macmillan Room, Portcullis House (PCH). Dominic Aeissame, Public Affairs Manager at Logistics UK will be attending. Contact: [email protected].
• The APPG for Freight and Logistics is hosting a session on the importance of improving work facilities and addressing skills shortages on Tuesday 21 April, 4:30pm – 5:30pm, Room U, PCH. Maddie Solloway-Price, Head of Road Freight & English Regions Policy at Logistics UK will be attending. Contact: [email protected].
• Melanie Onn MP (Labour, Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes) has secured a Ten Minute Rule Motion on the maximum noise levels on road surfaces, on Tuesday 21 April.
• The Northern Ireland Affairs Committee is holding an oral evidence session on Wednesday 22 April on energy costs in Northern Ireland.
• The Transport Committee is holding an oral evidence session on the work of National Highways on Wednesday 22 April. Speakers include the chair and interim CEO of National Highways.
• There will be a general debate in the House of Commons on Reforms of the Drivers and Vehicle Licensing Agency on Thursday 23 April.