Shortly after Labour won the 2024 general election, the newly-appointed Chancellor Rachel Reeves launched a multi-year Spending Review. This was partly used as a political platform to lambast the previous Government for an apparent overspend of £21.9 billion. Reeves announced last July that future Spending Reviews would be held every other year and gloomily heralded further “difficult choices” for early 2025. These choices are being made now, and the UK Warehousing Association (UKWA) presented a strong case for government support in its recent submission to HM Treasury.
Firstly, UKWA pointed out that the logistics sector lacks dedicated ministerial oversight, despite being integral to economic growth. We therefore repeated our longstanding demands for a Logistics Minister, to ensure coordinated policy support and strategic development.
In line with other trade associations across our sector, we praised the Generation Logistics campaign, an initiative aimed at addressing the labour and skills shortages in logistics. This programme successfully promotes logistics careers to young people through social media and job placement resources. With government funding of just £645,000 over the past two years, supplemented by considerable industry investment, it is a low-cost way to continue supporting economic growth and job creation.
We recommended an extension of the Freight Innovation Fund, a £7 million initiative supporting SMEs developing solutions for freight and logistics challenges. Given the lack of accessible grant funding for warehousing innovation, we believe that Government must provide long-term financial support for programmes that drive sector-wide improvements. Automation adoption remains low, with less than 20 percent of warehouses using it, so funding to help SMEs deploy existing automation technologies would enhance efficiency and contribute to the government’s industrial strategy goals.
We went on to highlight once again, the vast potential of warehouse rooftops for solar energy generation. If solar panels were installed on suitable warehouses, the UK’s solar capacity could easily be doubled, and Government support is crucial to achieve this aim.
The Modernising Authorisations programme for customs, which would have digitised and simplified business approvals, was recently cancelled. We argue that the government should reinstate it, to enhance efficiency and reduce red tape for our sector. And funding the staff for Government agencies will be at risk in this review, so we have spelt out the importance of resourcing the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) – which deals with business rates – as well as Local Planning Authorities (LPAs).
Policymakers must recognise warehousing and logistics as a foundational sector in our economy. By addressing labour shortages, supporting technological adoption, and streamlining regulatory processes, they can enable the sector to thrive and contribute to our country’s economic recovery and growth ambitions. As the government finalises its latest Spending Review, the UKWA’s recommendations provide a clear roadmap for safeguarding our members’ prosperity.
Clare Bottle
UKWA, CEO
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