In light of the upcoming elections in the UK and the feeling of uncertainty, the British ports Association launched its six key policy priorities for the 2019 UK General Election, paying attention to a swift to Brexit, safety, planning, connectivity, making the most of UK maritime, and fisheries.
Specifically, the report includes several requests of government, as the implementation of the safety, planning, connectivity, making the most of UK maritime, and fisheries.
The document focuses on:
- A Brexit settlement that will be fruitful for the ports.
- Safe and secure ports, adding that safety remains a top priority for the sector, given that ports are a crucial part of ensuring navigational safety within their waters by maintaining world-class infrastructure at no cost to the taxpayer.
- An updated approach of port zones and “free ports”.
- World-Class connectivity for World-Class infrastructure.
- Making the most of the UK Maritime Opportunities.
- A fisheries regime that that supports UK communities.
Mark Simmonds, Head of Policy & External Affairs at the BPA, commented that
We have been pushing many of these themes for a long time but the silver lining of the last few years of uncertainty is a renewed focus on the tremendous value around our ports and maritime industries. Ports are the foundation of the entire £46.1bn maritime economy, supporting industries such as leisure and tourism, commercial fishing, offshore energy aggregates and more. We look forward to discussing the ideas in this report, and more, with whoever forms the next Government.
To explore more on the General Election 2019 Priorities paper, click herebelow
