The voluntary initiative has been developed by FTA, together with the driver agency industry, and was announced by the FTA/Department for Transport “Listening to Industry” event by Transport Minister, Robert Goodwill.
The benefits of the FTA Driver Agency Accreditation Scheme include:
- Industry recognition that organisations are striving to achieve the highest levels of quality and compliance
- Verification to employees and clients that driver agencies are promoting good practice
- Reduction of corporate and operational risk
- The audit process will highlight any areas of ineffectiveness or non-compliance to help improve systems and processes
The Driver Agency Accreditation Scheme’s Governance Group is made up of founding driver agencies and considers applications, audit performance, feedback results, complaints and any other detrimental information. Every driver agency applying to become accredited by the scheme will be asked to sign a statement of intent and the FTA Driver Agency Accreditation Scheme will undertake an independent audit of the agency’s systems covering core business standards, driver recruitment standards and driver management standards.
Speaking at the launch, Theo de Pencier, FTA chief executive, said: ‘Ensuring high standards are maintained is always a priority for our members, but it may prove to be particularly important in a year when economic growth could increase the need to access a flexible workforce. This scheme, which has been developed by driver agency members and vehicle operators, provides industry recognised standards as well as a governance structure to promote continuous improvement.’