What a year 2015 has been. We have made progress with our lobbying throughout the year on access to security information, 4 year MOT and more. You can read the latest government response we received from the Chief Secretary to the Treasury below.

One of our biggest achievements this year was receiving CTSI Approval for Trust My Garage. Lots of you have been signing up, but if you haven’t yet you can call the member helpline to take advantage of this brilliant addition to your IGA membership. TMG members, please make sure you read the guidelines below so you can promote the new code approval, which dovetails neatly with the CTSI Certification of our ADR provision, the National Conciliation Service.

Another exciting announcement is the development of an RMI training centre which will open in spring 2016. This will be a continuously developing facility which will add even more opportunities to your membership, and you can find out more details in the bulletin.

Politically, the long-awaited apprenticeship levy was revealed in the Autumn Statement. More funding will ensure that apprentices get the quality training they need to become highly skilled technicians, securing the future of our industry. What’s more, companies with a wage bill below £3million are exempt from the levy, which is potentially good news for small businesses, however, the government have not announced how it will work for small businesses.

The ProMOTe campaign is being relaunched this month, which successfully helped to overturn the idea of reducing MOT frequency in 2012. Unfortunately we now need to lobby again, but we are joined by some of the biggest names in the aftermarket. You can follow the campaign on Twitter at @pro_MOTe and we will let you know how you can support the campaign when the new website launches.

Lastly, please make sure you read the latest information on automatic pension enrolment, as it is a legal requirement for all employers to complete the steps outlined in the article.

I hope you will enjoy a relaxing break over Christmas and New Year, and you can look forward to even more benefits to your membership in 2016.