For the vast majority of us, 2020 has been a year like no other, and the Covid-19 pandemic has caused severe disruption to our private lives and all levels of the UK’s economy. The focus of the IGA throughout has been to listen to members concerns, communicate in a clear way and challenge the government on its many hasty announcements. Please be assured that we are always here for you in times of need, and our phone lines and offices will remain open over the Christmas period.
It has been disappointing that we haven’t been able to visit as many of you as we normally would, hold member events, or run the BIG Awards this year. We hope to reschedule the awards to next September if the situation allows. We are aware that our industry’s charity, Ben, has supported many more people than normal throughout this pandemic but has seen a greater shortfall in donations, so we have decided to donate the cost savings from the reduction in events to Ben on behalf of IGA members.
Restrictions continue to change throughout the UK, and while garages can remain open, they must be COVID-secure. Nearly 600 COVID-19 Compliance Audits have been carried out since July, providing reassurance to customers and staff that garages are safe. These audits are a benefit of membership, so please give us a call to book yours in.
A new joint membership offering with ALLDATA Repair launches today. Similar to our existing offer with Autodata, you can save money by combining your IGA membership with ALLDATA Repair while also fixing subscription costs for the next three years. See the article below for more information.
Finally, although it’s hard to look to the future right now, there are a number of upcoming milestones to be aware of that may affect your business. The UK is leaving the EU on 31st December, and hopefully our government will succeed in securing a deal. While work levels may be busy now, please remember that next April will see a sharp decline as a knock-on effect from the MOT extension.
The news about a vaccine appears to be positive and we are optimistic that the latter part of 2021 will see a return to levels of normality as it is rolled out to the population. As always, if there’s anything we can do to help, please get in touch.
