Vital routes for supplies and people have been protected through a coronavirus support package to keep the flow of goods and services running smoothly in and out of the UK, and around the country, throughout the pandemic.
The Secretary of State for Transport, Grant Shapps MP, made the announcement in the daily press conference (24 April 2020) that a multi-million-pound support package for freight services would be put in place to protect the flow of goods between the UK, mainland Europe and Northern Ireland.
In addition, thousands of volunteers from the transport sector will be put on standby to support frontline services as a new ‘Transport Support Unit’ is established, alongside hundreds of government vehicles from the transport network.
Kevin Harris is Chair of the LLEP Board of Directors. He said:
“This is great news for the logistics and transport industry for which Leicestershire is a key location. As home to East Midlands Airport, East Midlands Gateway Logistics Park and Magna Park, our region is a key hub from which freight arrives and is distributed across the whole UK and beyond.
It is also encouraging to hear the plans for drone trails to deliver medical supplies to St Mary’s Hospital on the Isle of Wight. There is potential to change the way goods are moved around in the future and trails like this could see those changes come forward sooner than we have all anticipated, opening up innovative opportunities for our local businesses to expand the services they operate.
We welcome the support announced today to ensure this key sector and the many thousands of jobs it supports can continue to operate and move supplies and people to where they are needed most during the current crisis.”
You can read more on the government announcement here www.gov.uk/government/news/vital-routes-for-supplies-and-people-kept-open-through-coronavirus-support-package
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