CPA Bulletin

50 CPA Bulletin > February 2025 www.cpa.uk.net We have received a copy of the proposed document. At the time of writing this article, our understanding of the updated guidance - and this may change depending on what the document actually says - is as follows: Key points to note: Notifications 1. 30-day notifications will be included in the guidance. 2. The guidance will say that discretion should be exercised for short notice requests where there is a risk to life, for utilities, protecting the environment or supporting critical national infrastructure. Escorts 1. The guidance will introduce an ‘escalation point’ where a more senior officer will decide whether a Special Police Services (SPS) escort is required, if an operator and Abnormal Loads Officer (ALO) are unable to reach an agreement. 2. There should be transparency in decisions for escorts – including specific reasons to justify them. 3. Forces should ensure operator engagement before an escort takes place to reduce the likelihood of delays e.g. encouraging all paperwork to be ready before. 4. The ‘Fleet-check’ app used by police is to be shared with industry to aid preparation. Embargos 1. Blanket restrictions will only be removed from CAT1 lorries and class A cranes. This clause previously effectively took out cranes and cat 2 loads out of blanket embargos. 2. The guidance will say that there must be a proportionate use of embargos, particularly on non-police notifiable movements and a recognition that special vehicles such as non-police notifiable mobile cranes are free to travel without restriction. 3. The guidance recognises that embargos should be applied on a case-by-case basis following a notification submission and subsequent risk assessment. 4. It is accepted that movements which are non-notifiable to the police cannot be lawfully embargoed, although may be subject to an enforcement stop. Training As there is no specific ‘Abnormal Load and Special Vehicle’ training for officers, NPCC will request a training course via the College of Policing. Communication of Updated Guidance 1. The updated guidance will be published via various police and governance structures. 2. Industry, if they wish, can provide quarterly updates to ALOs and Commercial Vehicle (CV) units working with NPCC. Future Plans • NPCC is planning to schedule a 12-month review of how the guidance is working, post-publication. • Industry representatives to be invited to attend Regional Roads Policing working groups. As soon as we learn of any further developments, the membership will be informed. Legal NEWS LEGAL: 1 The National Police Chief Council (NPCC) held a meeting on 6th November 2024 to approve an updated Abnormal Load Guidance document. At the time of writing this article, we believe that the updated guidance document will be launched early in the New Year. The outcomes from the meeting were as follows: • The NPCC want to encourage greater consistency and best practice amongst forces. This was the objective of the meeting and of the new guidance. • NPCC reiterated that they are committed to publishing the updated guidance before the end of 2024 - which has now been deferred to early 2025. • They emphasised that the role of NPCC guidance is not to replace current legislation but rather to encourage consistency within the legislation. Police forces are autonomous so can make decisions which contravene the guidance. • NPCC recognise the importance of building trust and confidence through the policing of abnormal load movements. Police forces have an obligation to provide a risk assessment, quality assessment and community assessment for any changes they introduce. They view Ab loads operators as a community. The opinions of those senior police officers present seemed keen to remove the current embargo/notification stipulations. As soon as we are aware of any changes, we will inform the membership. NPCC Abnormal Load Meeting - London