Lorry drivers shortage was fuelled by low pay, not Brexit

As rising wages see number taking HGV test soar:

BRITAIN’S lorry driver shortage is beginning to ease, say industry experts – as more are attracted by increased wages.

Although there were still 44,000 fewer HGV drivers at the end of the summer than there were at the same time in 2019, the number taking tests has soared.

It comes as average driver pay has risen by 10 per cent in the nine months to October, with hauliers boosting wages to lure in workers.

As it published its latest figures, trade body Logistics UK said the haulage industry was seeing ‘the green shoots of recovery’.

The optimistic outlook is in stark contrast to the gloomy forecast made by some when the UK came out of lockdown earlier this year.

The Road Haulage Association, a separate trade body, had said the country was facing ‘disaster day’ unless the Government intervened to train more drivers and attract workers from Europe.

It blamed Brexit, combined with the pandemic and a shortage of driving tests, for the lack of staff – and warned that supermarket shelves could be left empty.

But figures from the Office for National Statistics indicated that most lorry drivers who had left their jobs since the start of the pandemic were middle-aged British men who had decided to retire or quit due to poor working conditions. Around half as many were EU nationals.

With wages now rising, the number applying to take a HGV test rose by 25.6 per cent in July to September compared with the same period in 2019, to 23,595.

Applications for vocational provisional licences, a precur sor to taking the test, have jumped threefold.

Former Tory party leader Iain Duncan Smith said: ‘It’s the usual story – those people who never accepted Brexit screamed and shouted but it’s just not true.

‘Lorry drivers were short across the whole of Europe during the pandemic. This was not a Brexit problem.

‘Now it turns out that the market resolves itself as more drivers see better incomes are being paid. This should be a lesson that people should stop blaming Brexit for anything that goes wrong.’

Julian Jessop, an economist at think-tank the Institute of Economic Affairs, said: ‘While the sector still faces a number of real challenges, the situation is far from the doom and gloom peddled by some commentators.

‘The fact that driver shortages have eased without the UK rejoining the EU demonstrates that Brexit was a relatively small part of the problem.’ Elizabeth de Jong, of Logistics UK, said: ‘With higher wages now helping to plug the gaps in employment for companies, there is hope that the shortage of HGV drivers will ease.’

Miss de Jong urged against complacency, saying smaller fleet operators were struggling to keep up with pay rises.

There are 236,000 HGV drivers employed in the UK, but industry experts think there is still a shortfall of 100,000, up from 60,000 pre-pandemic.

It emerged last month that only 20 emergency visas allowing foreign truckers to work in the UK had been granted so far, out of 5,000 available.

‘Small part of the problem’