FORS freezes fees – There will be no increase to FORS membership subscription or audit fees in 2018. This announcement means it is the third year in succession that FORS members will enjoy a price freeze from the transport industry’s leading best practice accreditation scheme.
The latest price freeze follows last autumn’s announcement at the FORS Members’ Conference that the FORS Gold evidencing fee of £235 will be scrapped for smaller operators.
The axing of the fee – for operators with one to three vehicles, effective from 1 January this year – is aimed at encouraging smaller operators to progress to FORS Gold and, with it, going on to attain the very highest standards of operational best practice.
“We plough a lot of investment into evolving the scheme and into developing a wide range of meaningful member benefits,” said FORS director, John Hix. “We recognise too the everincreasing costs that operators must bear, and our price freeze, we hope, goes some way to easing the pressure.”
Recent milestones for the scheme also underline its expanding membership, both in terms of numbers and its geographical reach. The 250th FORS Gold member – Heathrow Haulage – joins an ‘elite’ group of FORS members displaying exemplary levels of operation, while haulier RLT Ltd. in Buxton becomes the 900th FORS Silver member, reflecting the expanding nature of FORS as a truly nationwide accreditation scheme.
“FORS really is gaining traction with operators up and down the UK,” added Hix. “Over two-thirds of our membership is outside the M25, with a growing number overseas. It proves to me that the fundamental FORS message of operational best practice resonates with operators regardless of their location and irrespective of their fleet makeup.”
