Driver shortage: Parliamentary petition launched as government holds emergency talks

A parliamentary petition has been launched urging the government to add HGV drivers to ‘shortage occupations list’ as the Defra held emergency talks with various stakeholders on the crisis.

The petition notes that the situation could result in “deliveries of food, supplies and fuel to be interrupted” and the haulage/logistics industry needs urgent help to tackle the crisis.

The Defra meeting with industry chiefs from retail, wholesale and logistics follows a joint call last week by the industry leaders for personal intervention from Prime Minister Boris Johnson to allow access to EU drivers by introducing temporary worker visas for HGV drivers and adding them to shortage occupation list to help make it easier to bring in them from overseas.

Commenting on the meeting, James Bielby, chief executive of the Federation of Wholesale Distributors (FWD) told Asian Trader that the Defra officials are aware of the threat to the food supply chain.

“We had a very constructive meeting with Defra officials who are clearly switched on to the potential threat to food supply if this distribution crisis isn’t addressed immediately,” he said. “We will be working with Defra to demonstrate to other government departments that while this is a long-term problem, it desperately requires a short-term solution.”

Noting that the wholesalers are feeling the full effects of the driver shortage now, Bielby reiterated the call for a temporary extension of drivers’ hours, similar to the one put in place last year when retailers were facing shortages.

“Wholesalers are struggling both to get stock into their warehouses, and out to customers. There are genuine concerns over supply to shops in remote communities. We’re calling for immediate action to re-instate the temporary extension of drivers’ hours, and help to speed up certification of new or lapsed drivers.”

In the June 23 letter sent to Johnson, the industry has warned that the country could face gaps on store shelves this summer and an "unimaginable" collapse of supply chains after the pandemic and Brexit led to a shortage of more than 100,000 truck drivers.

Britain's logistics industry had been one of the most vocal in the run-up to Britain's departure from the EU, warning that truck drivers would not want to come to Britain if checks and friction increased at the border.

The pandemic has compounded the problem after many European drivers living in Britain returned to their country of origin.