Don't ask me to find my way out - we've been escorted to the Minister of State for Transport's private office, deep in the bowels of the Houses of Parliament. It's my first visit to the seat of the country's decision-making and I'm a bit giddy with all the power and intrigue. For the first time in donkey's years your correspondent is a little nervous as I await my audience with the minister.
I'm here to see Minister of State for Transport Stephen Ladyman MP and I've got an hour - so where do I start? He wants to speak about Freight Best Practice, which is all very well, but I'm not about to waste the opportunity to quiz him on policy. No doubt we'll find some form of compromise.
In fact Ladyman is more than happy to cover policy issues. Indeed he seems comfortable to chat about most things. Over the course of our interview we touch on fuel costs, Euro-5, longer trucks, the trade associations, foreign competition and, inevitably, Freight Best Practice.
He comes across as a good-humoured, reasonable sort of chap who is prepared to support initiatives, providing a clear and rational argument can be presented. He also appears interested in the sector, indicating he'll take us up on an invitation to come and drive some trucks - whether he's genuine or not will be revealed in the coming months. He's also a no-nonsense communicator, which I like.
"There seems to be a view about politics that if you make enough noise you'll get what you want," he tells me as I ask why the Department for Transport doesn't react more swiftly to initiatives suggested by this industry. "In reality if you do that you'll just piss people off. The FTA and RHA have recognised the need to qualify and quantify the issues and initiatives.
"I'm a scientist," he adds. Ladyman won his PhD at Strathclyde University and worked as a research scientist for the Medical Research Council. Before becoming an MP he was head of computer user support at Pfizer. "As a result I want evidence before I make decisions.
"Your readers wouldn't rush headlong into making a business decision based on someone coming to them with a seemingly good idea; they'd want facts and figures. This is my approach to the brief."
The case for 60-tonne or 25.25m trucks is an example where Ladyman hasn't been convinced of the evidence presented to date: "I couldn't see it working. If someone can show me otherwise we would look again."
It will be interesting to see if the DfT's own 'desk-based' research will change this view.
The rising cost of fuel is at the top of every operator's list of worries, so I'm keen to establish the government's policy position, starting with the direct approach: What will Labour do to address the issue of rising fuel costs?
Swift and typical
Ladyman's response is swift and typical of a politician: "Let me throw it back at you," he says. "What is the road transport industry doing about rising fuel costs?" Drowning, is the obvious response, but it's a rhetorical question and he presses on.
"We've developed an excellent initiative for operators in the shape of Freight Best Practice, which can offer real efficiency gains. Somewhere in the region of 6% fuel savings can be realised through the SAFED (safe and fuel efficient driving) process, yet only 6% of operators have taken up the free products that are available.
"All the tools and information have been developed for improving operational efficiency and it's all free, but from the take-up it would appear 94% of people are not taking an interest in these issues."
This, of course, is a complete cop-out. Many operators are doing everything possible to improve efficiency without necessarily registering for the SAFED scheme or taking Freight Best Practice advice.
Ladyman concedes the government could, perhaps, do more to make operators aware of the Freight Best Practice publications. A new fuel management guide has been published; its website has just been updated with more publications and help in the pipeline.
For Ladyman, as for many others inside and outside this industry, rising fuel costs are seen as a transport management issue - and while he doesn't say so specifically, the prospect of duty relief seems unlikely. I also wonder if it's ultimately his decision, as strictly speaking this is a Treasury matter.
But while he is reluctant to make any promises about government incentives, he doesn't slam the door completely: "I wouldn't like to say we're going to throw large sums of money in incentives," he says, "but I wouldn't rule out the carrot, where it's proven to be cost-effective for government. I'd need to be sure I am getting value for money."
Ladyman is clearly impressed by the work the trade associations and the rest of the industry did during the Burns Inquiry, a report he refers to a number of times during our interview. He tells me that government working parties have been established to examine the inquiry's findings; the minister, along with John Healy from the Treasury, will be meeting the RHA and FTA to review progress.
The working groups are currently looking in depth at cabotage, he adds, specifically the issues surrounding foreign competition. But he isn't convinced there is a case to answer: Yes, fuel is cheaper in some European countries, but lots of other areas of operation are more expensive on the Continent."
He clearly wants to know more about the impact of cabotage on UK road transport operators: "The work we're doing is throwing up some real figures for cabotage. There's a lot we can do about it. We shouldn't only focus on the costs, for instance; regarding cabotage, there may be work the government can do to facilitate trade routes for UK operators in other countries."
Tory overtures
I've been impressed by the minister to date, but have also been warming to the Conservative's recent overtures to the industry. Any MP prepared to get out and drive trucks and investigate the issues around longer vehicles will find favour in this journal.
But Ladyman warns the road transport industry against Tory schmoozing: "Opposition MPs are saying things to the sector which are profoundly dishonest," he says, launching a blistering, if unsurprising, attack on his rivals. "The high cost of fuel didn't take effect on 1 May 1997, nor was the fuel duty escalator started in May 1997. Indeed we abandoned the escalator. The Conservatives never tell us where they're going to get the savings required to offer incentives to the sector.
"In Parliament they are following a green agenda, yet they are out talking to the sector about cutting costs."
I'm a bit taken aback by this attack on the opposition and, checking my watch, reckon it's almost time to make tracks. But before I go there's time to try another swipe - why doesn't the government do more to help the road transport operators of the UK?
"I have the greatest respect for this sector of industry," Ladyman says, promisingly, if predictably. "It's one of the safest road transport industries in Europe and we can build on its fine record. This government is investing in roads, reforming the O-licence system and investing in systems to tackle congestion, not to mention the Freight Best Practice work. No one can say we're not taking this sector seriously."
All well and good, but the cost of fuel is the biggest pressure on operators and it's clear that Stephen Ladyman is not about to open a treasure chest of incentives for the road transport sector. He seems more interested in schemes such as Freight Best Practice, which are designed to help the industry help itself, hinting that there could be more initiatives just around the corner, particularly regarding a revamped Road Haulage Modernisation Fund. We await developments.
Pragmatic approach
Questions exhausted and notebook full, I head back down the corridors of power towards the exit. I'm not a big fan of treating politics like a football match, where you can't see the benefits of the other team's play because you're too closely allied to your own team, so I tend to take a pragmatic approach. If it works for the road haulage industry then it's all right by me.
Former Secretary of State for Transport Alistair Darling had been kicking around for far too long, and after the initial wave of enthusiasm the transport brief was beginning to look a little neglected. With a new secretary at the helm in the form of Douglas Alexander, a transport minister who, on this evidence, seems to know one end of a truck from another, and a resurgent opposition snapping at their heels, the prospects must be good for road transport.
Now it's up to the trade associations, and everyone else in the industry, to keep up the pressure with well reasoned, rational solutions and determined lobbying. Because one thing's for sure: if we don't put the industry's case across, no one else is going to do it for us.
