National Towing Working Group Safety Framework

The House of Commons have launched a new All-Party Parliamentary Group has been registered to raise awareness of trailer and towing safety in the UK.

The Trailer and Towing Safety All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) is to be chaired by Karin Smyth MP, with Sharon Hodgson MP, Alan Brown MP and Sir David Amess MP standing as elected Officers and the National Caravan Council (NCC) appointed as group Secretariat.

The primary focus of the APPG will be to bring together parliamentarians, industry representatives and consumer groups to discuss and raise awareness of trailer and towing safety. At its inaugural meeting, the APPG will discuss a programme of work for the future as well as reviewing the latest report on trailer safety from the Department for Transport. The National Towing Working Group, chaired by Highways England and including representatives from across the towing community, will also be launching the first ever Safety Framework with the aim of reducing towing-related incidents, both business and domestic related, across the GB road network.

Speaking about the launch of the APPG, Karin Smyth, MP for Bristol South, said: “Today's launch of the new APPG on towing and trailer safety is a hugely significant step towards protecting road users and pedestrians. It gives the issue the attention in parliament that it deserves and paves the way for changes needed in the area of safe towing over the coming months and years."

Alicia Dunne of the NCC added: “I am pleased that the NCC has been invited to provide the Secretariat for this newly formed APPG on trailer and towing safety. We have consistently been an advocate of trailer safety education and awareness, and the importance of regular professional servicing. We look forward to helping Karin and the group develop practical, proportionate and effective measures aimed at improving trailer and towing safety for all UK road users.

The primary focus of the Trailer and Towing Safety APPG is to bring together parliamentarians, industry representatives and consumer groups to discuss and raise awareness of trailer and towing safety. Through its APPG meetings and discussions, the group has a number of different work streams and research projects to consider. The latest legislative developments, associated industry reports and inquiries on trailer safety can be found below.