How Will the Government Aid Delivery Firms?

So, as the party will now be presiding over the Scottish Parliament for the next four years, it is imperative that we see some immediate progress – and I believe now is the time for the government to make a specific commitment to delivery firms in order to spark our sector back into health.

I’ve highlighted before how I believe that the delivery industry is one of the key components of Scotland’s – and the rest of the UK’s – economy. In many ways, we are the backbone of the business community as we make important deliveries every day for some of the biggest companies and organisations throughout the country.

Delivery firms provide a service that ensures sensitive information and documents can be safely and securely transported to their intended locations. At my firm Eagle Couriers, we carry out deliveries for major clients such as the NHS, the Scottish Government, the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service and the BBC – and without our support and expertise, these organisations would be severely hindered from carrying out their important work.

Furthermore, delivery firms are constantly on the road which means that we spend more money on fuel than the majority of other industries in the UK. With fuel duty prices currently at a high, we have a scenario where the delivery sector is actually pumping huge amounts of money into the treasury – yet we rarely receive anything beneficial in return.

Roads across Scotland and the rest of the UK are in a terrible state, fuel prices remain ridiculously high and there is little or no investment in the transport infrastructure. Since the recession began, we have also watched enviously as banks and other high profile businesses received bail-outs and support for the government – while our own sector was left to ride out the economic storm on its own.

Many delivery companies have found it tough to remain competitive over the past four years and have had to dramatically streamline their operations to stay profitable. Some firms have even been driven out of business altogether, because they could not adapt to the harsh economic reality of the downturn.

Therefore, I would like the SNP to make a commitment to our industry in order to ensure that delivery firms in Scotland can thrive during the post-recession era. While they cannot provide us with reduced fuel prices, I hope they will pledge to help repair our crumbling roads and provide financial incentives and business support to help us grow over the coming years.

I’d also like to see financial incentives introduced by the Scottish Government to encourage delivery firms to develop their green credentials. We’re constantly told about the importance of protecting the environment, conserving fuel and cutting our emissions – and many firms are currently striving to improve their environmental policies. However, additional incentives for firms to use hybrid vehicles or develop fuel-efficient work practices would provide extra help for many companies to improve their environmental credentials.

The SNP has championed itself as the party that is behind small and medium sized businesses in Scotland, and has already revealed a range of initiatives to help these firms flourish in the coming years – such as reduced business rates, job creation schemes and financial incentives.

I hope that the delivery industry will not be left out in the cold once again, as we are long overdue some good news.