TSA Gains the Support for Cross-Party Meeting in Westminster

TSA met with Derek Thomas the MP for West Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly (St Ives) in Westminster this week to discuss the ongoing issues facing the commercial laundr y industr y Association member Luke Edwards from Mounts Bay Laundr y in Penzance helped to set up and also attended the meeting, as Mr Thomas is his local MP Having pitched the case for the industr y, the TSA is delighted that Derek Thomas has agreed to sponsor and to help organise a cross-par ty meeting in Westminster with an invitation to be sent to TSA's members' local MPs

"We are hugely grateful to Derek for his help and for being such a strong advocate for our industr y, " says David Stevens, CEO of the TSA Derek had previously visited Mounts Bay Laundr y and so had a good understanding of the scale of the industr y and its challenges The Westminster meeting covered a lot of ground including energ y suppor t labour shor tages and more generally, what the industr y can do to ensure that it is visible to the Government going forward Also, demonstrating the industr y ' s role it plays in suppor ting the UK economy and how it can help the Government achieve its sustainability targets

Stevens emphasises the work of the TSA's members and the new Lobbying Steering Group in helping raise the industr y ' s profile "The work has resulted in many MPs visiting laundries and recognising the importance of our industr y

The rise in the industr y ' s profile is evident in the questions being raised in Parliament - just last month

SNP member Mar tyn Day and Conser vative Anne Marie Morris raised the issue of the need to suppor t commercial laundries under the Energ y and Trade Intensive Industries scheme Even Grant Shapps the Secretar y of State for Energ y Security and Net Zero, mentioned the issue in his recent letter, saying, "I recognise the ongoing challenges for the commercial laundr y sector due to significant increases in global energ y prices and other cost of living pressures "

The aim of the upcoming cross-par ty meeting will be to provide an over view of the commercial laundr y industr y It will underline the value it brings to the UK Economy and the reliance of both hospitality and healthcare on the industr y In addition, it will look to develop a strateg y to allow the industr y to engage fully in the newly formed Energ y Efficiency Taskforce

"At last after all the lobbying by TSA and its members the Government is star ting to listen to commercial laundries " says Stevens "The suppor t from Derek and other MPs is critical if we are to drive the messages home But this is just the beginning, we can't let up There is much work to do "

The TSA is the trade association for the textile care ser vices industr y The TSA represents commercial laundr y and textile rental businesses Membership ranges from family-run operations through to large , multinational companies Visit www tsa-uk org for more information