Lorry driver crisis
The Department of Transport has announced a series of measures which it aims will solve the road haulage problem. It will include letters sent to people with HGV licences to encourage them to return. Drivers who hold an HGV licence are being encouraged by the government to get back behind the wheel of lorries to solve the current shortage crisis with nearly one million letters being sent out. It is one of the measures being used to deal with the road haulage problem that is causing shortages for many consumer goods and is being blamed on a combination of the pandemic and Brexit. The Department of Transport is also aiming to get more people trained up to become lorry drivers.
We are searching data for your request:
Upon completion, a link will appear to access the found materials.
Content:
- HGV driver shortage: UK government response
- 10 areas worst hit by lorry driver shortage - see if your region is listed
- Will lorry driver shortages in France affect supplies as in the UK?
- Truck driver shortage crisis now spreading across the whole of Europe
- IR35 reform sees HGV driver shortage reach ‘crisis point’
- Lack of lorry drivers fuels materials shortage crisis
- How to solve the crisis over the lack of HGV drivers
HGV driver shortage: UK government response
Industry bosses told a select committee hearing that the crisis could last a year and that it was resulting in "terrifying" price rises for the hospitality sector. Business correspondent HelenAnnSmith0. Haulage industry bosses have told MPs that the shortage of lorry drivers and resulting crisis in the supply chain is not improving despite measures introduced by the government to try and alleviate the problems.
Duncan Buchanan, director of policy at the Road Haulage Association, also strongly criticised the recently-announced 5, three-month visas for foreign drivers saying "if you were designing a visa system to fail, you would design it something like this". He forecasted that the problems being experienced could last a year. His warning came alongside others from recruitment and food services industry bosses appearing before the business, energy and industrial strategy select committee.
All three pointed to structural problems in the labour market which have contributed to the crisis. The Office for National Statistics published figures on Tuesday which show that HGV driver numbers have fallen by 53, over the past four years.
Government playing 'Russian roulette' with road safety after relaxing HGV rules, says trade union. HGV driver crisis: Free 'skills bootcamps' to combat shortage begin.
HGV driver crisis: Drinks firms warn of Christmas booze shortage due to 'delivery chaos'. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player. The government has introduced a variety of measures to try and alleviate the problem including 5, three-month visas for non-UK drivers and training for 4, more British workers to become HGV drivers.
Mr Buchanan was particularly critical of the visa proposal saying a year would be more attractive to foreign workers. Last week, plans were announced for a change to cabotage rules which govern how many deliveries foreign drivers can make in the UK within one trip. Mr Buchanan said this would have "zero impact" on alleviating the crisis and would serve to undermine the improving wages and conditions of British drivers. He added however that people should not panic as most of these pressures were being felt by businesses and not being passed on to consumers.
Ian Wright said that while there is no shortage of food there have been problems with getting some products to the shelves.
He also said that he was particularly concerned with inflation and the fact that labour shortages could continue to push prices up.
Neil Carberry, chief executive of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation added that labour shortages in the UK are "uniquely sharp" compared with other countries and suggested that "snobbery" in policy-making has contributed.
He suggested that visa policy should be more focused on the workers that are needed, such as in haulage. The prime minister reiterated that supply chain pressures are being experienced globally as the world emerges from the pandemic and that the UK is transitioning to a high wage, high productivity economy.
A government spokesperson said: "We have already taken immediate action to increase the supply of HGV drivers, streamline the testing process and improve working conditions. Watch Live. HGV driver crisis: 'Things are not visibly getting better at this stage' industry bosses warn Industry bosses told a select committee hearing that the crisis could last a year and that it was resulting in "terrifying" price rises for the hospitality sector.
Tuesday 19 October , UK. Why you can trust Sky News. More on Hgv Drivers. Related Topics: hgv drivers supply crisis. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Related Topics hgv drivers supply crisis.
10 areas worst hit by lorry driver shortage - see if your region is listed
France is experiencing a shortage of 40,, lorry drivers, a leading industry union has said. However the situation is not as bad as in the UK where around double that number of drivers are lacking, a logistics expert said. Reported petrol shortages in the UK due to a lack of petrol haulier drivers has caused a spate of panic buying, with long queues outside petrol stations, and the army reported to be on standby to assist if necessary. UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps sought to play down the issue, telling the BBC : "We are starting to see panic buying drop, with more grades of fuel available at more petrol stations. The BBC reported that 75 military drivers are on standby, and there are calls for priority workers, such as healthcare staff, to receive fuel first.
Will lorry driver shortages in France affect supplies as in the UK?
Home News Article. Government steps to ease the lorry driver crisis may not be enough to prevent shortages on supermarket's shelves at Christmas, warns an industry expert. Transport Minister Grant Shapps is holding talks with haulage and freight associations today with a view to streamlining HGV driver testing procedures in order to get more behind the wheel. The supply chain industry has been left sagging under the pressure of the twin pressures of the pandemic and an exodus of European lorry drivers due to Brexit. It has meant many of the biggest names have seen shortages in supplies, supermarkets running out of stock and even beer at our pubs running dry. But with no immediate solution to the problem, there are mounting fears shelves could be depleted at Christmas, traditionally the period of highest demand, fuelling Government anxieties of another disrupted festive season. It is understood talks taking place in Whitehall today involve abolishing the gap between drivers taking what is known as their Class C licence - for large, rigid, lorries - and Class E - which allows them to drive the larger articulated trucks.
Truck driver shortage crisis now spreading across the whole of Europe
Keep abreast of significant corporate, financial and political developments around the world. Stay informed and spot emerging risks and opportunities with independent global reporting, expert commentary and analysis you can trust. Sign in. Accessibility help Skip to navigation Skip to content Skip to footer. Become an FT subscriber to read: Budget funding for UK truck driver shortage criticised by logistics sector Make informed decisions with the FT Keep abreast of significant corporate, financial and political developments around the world.
IR35 reform sees HGV driver shortage reach ‘crisis point’
Keep abreast of significant corporate, financial and political developments around the world. Stay informed and spot emerging risks and opportunities with independent global reporting, expert commentary and analysis you can trust. Sign in. Accessibility help Skip to navigation Skip to content Skip to footer. Choose your subscription. Trial Try full digital access and see why over 1 million readers subscribe to the FT.
Lack of lorry drivers fuels materials shortage crisis
Picture taken with a drone. Logistics UK, which represents freight and haulage businesses, estimates the country lacks around , drivers, shortages that have disrupted supply chains and left gaps on supermarket shelves. That reflects the tens of thousands who returned to the European Union after Brexit and the cancellation of 40, truck driver tests during COVID lockdowns. However, that represents an improvement on the fall of 72,, or Early signs of improvement included applications for provisional licences three times higher than pre-pandemic levels and a The government is also investing in "Skills Bootcamps" to train up to 5, people, while apprenticeships have been introduced to attract younger drivers. In October the government announced 4, temporary visas for overseas drivers for food supply and for fuel supply for a three-month period, following a fuel crisis.
How to solve the crisis over the lack of HGV drivers
Industry insiders, however, know that this crisis has been building up for years and the impact of Brexit, Covid and a few other recent changes have only been the icing on the cake. There is now a shortage of more than , drivers in the UK, out of a pre-pandemic total of about , These are the figures that came out recently when the Road Haulage Association conducted a survey of its members.
Tim Baldwin thinks problems have been "bubbling away" for some time. For daily updates and all the latest breaking news sent straight to your inbox sign up to our daily newsletter. The year-old is startled awake by his alarm around one or 2am each morning before clambering into his car. It takes around half an hour for Tim to drive from his home in Southend-on-Sea into Thurrock where he picks up his lorry and starts what could be anywhere between a 12 or hour work day. Read more: Breaking news, updates and reports from in and around Southend. During that time, Tim will pick-up and drop-off loads across the country, hoping to catch a "kip in the back of the truck where he can.
Across the country, everything stacked on shop shelves, hung in wardrobes and chilling in fridges has been on the back of a lorry at some point. And one boss said the shortage had been a problem throughout all of his year career in the haulage industry. White truck driving on a european highway. Elizabeth de Jong, director of policy at Logistics UK, wrote to a senior civil servant at the Department for Transport outlining what the trade association thought should be done to the driver shortage. Two lorries on the motorway driving side to side. The spokesman said a revised version of the National Planning Policy Framework had been issued that indicates sufficient overnight lorry parking should be considered in planning policies and decisions. The spokesman added that under the point-based system HGV drivers were not classed as skilled workers, and that even being added to the Shortage Occupation List would not make HGV drivers qualify as skilled workers.
Britain's supermarket industry, led by Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda and Morrisons, relies on an army of drivers and warehouse workers. Britain could face gaps on supermarket shelves this summer and an "unimaginable" collapse of supply chains after the pandemic and Brexit led to a shortage of more than , truck drivers, industry leaders have warned. In a letter sent to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the haulage industry has called for his personal intervention to allow access to European HGV drivers by introducing temporary worker visas and to add them to a "shortage occupation list". The government has said the industry should look to hire local drivers.
Remove everything, that a theme does not concern.
Exam +5