Home Office Brings International Haulage Companies Together To Spread Best Practice On Vehicle Security

29th September 2015

Logistics BusinessHome Office Brings International Haulage Companies Together To Spread Best Practice On Vehicle Security

The Home Office hosted the first international lorry security conference in Brussels today (Monday 28 September) to help tackle the impact of illegal immigration on the haulage industry.

Trade bodies, regulators and haulage companies attended the event in Brussels which included a speech by Home Office Second Permanent Secretary for Immigration, Oliver Robbins, key Border Force officers and a presentation by the Transport Asset Protection Association (TAPA).

The event was arranged following Immigration Minister James Brokenshire’s call for a Europe-wide conference to address the issue of haulage security. It is estimated that more than one third of lorries arriving at the UK border have no basic security precautions in place. This can lead to more migrants attempting to conceal themselves in vehicles to cross the border illegally, which places them in danger and leads to significant damage to cargo. With an estimated ?2 million of food destroyed each month because of this type of activity, this has a huge impact on the industry.

Of the 2.2 million powered goods vehicles travelling to mainland Europe from the UK in 2014, 1.9 million were foreign-registered and the conference is seen as a vital event to help share best practice with the world’s freight transport industry in maintaining security standards.

Today’s conference included three workshops covering vehicle security technology; Border Force’s approach to the problem; and, in a session led by the European Commission, a discussion on how to spread best practice internationally.

Immigration Minister James Brokenshire said:


“The UK recognises the pressure the haulage industry has faced, not only in Northern France but also throughout Europe. Today’s conference was an opportunity to collectively explore solutions to protect this sector and the UK economy.

“Most hauliers are meeting the basic standards of lorry security. However, a significant proportion are not and this poses a significant risk of illegal migrants gaining entry to the UK and also of damage to valuable cargo.

“This is not a problem for individual governments alone, so I welcome all those who attended today, including the European Commission which is helping to change behaviour across the sector.”

Less than seven per cent of fines issued by the Home Office last year were to British drivers and extensive work has been carried out with industry partners to encourage good lorry security. This includes:

  • a civil penalty regime for drivers and companies who operate unsecure vehicles and bring in illegal immigrants; 
  • supporting guidance for industry on effective lorry security in 9 European languages; 
  • an accreditation scheme to help companies achieve a good standard of lorry security – which now has over 300 members from all over Europe; and 
  • close working with the Traffic Commissioners, the UK Regulator for the haulage industry.