Covid Update: Introduction of Tier 4 in England
Engineius continues to operate its full vehicle movement service across all regions of England, Scotland and Wales, including Tier 4 regions of England, following the Government’s revised guidance announced on Saturday. Please contact us for more information about the situation in Northern Ireland.
The UK Government announced the creation of new Tier 4 restrictions on Saturday 19 December, as well as their immediate implementation across London and the South East of England.
In practice, Tier 4 restrictions are largely in line with the November national lockdown measures in England, and less severe than the national restrictions implemented in March. Engineius has continued to operate throughout both these blanket lockdown periods, and will continue to do so with regional restrictions in place.
Whilst regulations will not restrict us from operating, we would, however, like to highlight the ongoing risk of service disruption during this period.
(BBC News, 21 December 2020)
Specifically, the following factors might lead to fewer suppliers being willing to work across the whole of the UK:
#1: Perception of Tier 4: Tier 4 areas have been characterised as those with the presence of the new variant of the Virus, which is more easily transmitted. Suppliers from outside of Tier 4 areas may be deterred from entering such areas, even though the advice is clear that they should do so if essential for their work.
#2: Christmas: We anticipate some capacity issues in the lead-up to Christmas, as some suppliers will inevitably decide to isolate in order to ensure they can spend Christmas with their families. However, there is usually a corresponding reduction in demand for vehicle movement at this time, and as a result we do not believe this will cause service issues generally.
#3: Disruption to domestic travel: Whilst there has not been any announcements of disruption to public transport, there may well be some reduction in services or delays. Should such impacts affect the completion of a journey, we will follow the normal procedure of communicating with individual customers as soon as possible.
#4 Northern Ireland: Movement activity that involves travelling through Ireland will face significant challenges after the Irish Govt cancelled flights and limited ferry crossings from the UK. Please contact us if you are unsure about whether any movements to Northern Ireland will be affected.
We are, of course, taking all necessary measures to ensure that all suppliers, customers and staff stay safe at this time. Our full Covid-19 policy can be accessed here. Our contactless handover process can be accessed here.
Should there be any changes to our operation or government policy that affects the vehicle movement industry, we will of course communicate to all relevant parties as soon as possible.
In the meantime, we hope everyone is keeping well and safe.
The Engineius Management Team