10,500 temporary visas to counter worker crisis
Britain will issue up to 10,500 temporary work visas to lorry drivers and poultry workers to ease chronic staff shortages, the government announced, in a U-turn on post-brexit immigration policy.
The short-term visas, to run from next month until late December, come as ministers grapple with a huge shortfall in drivers and some other key workers that has hit fuel supplies and additional industries.
A tanker driver shortage has caused long queues at petrol stations in recent days, as people ignore government pleas not to panic-buy fuel after some garages closed due to the lack of delivery.
The decision to expand the critical worker visa scheme on Saturday is a reversal by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, whose government had tightened post-brexit immigration rules insisting that Britain’s reliance on foreign labour must end.
It had resisted the move for months, despite an estimated shortage of around 100,000 heavy goods vehicle (HGV) drivers and warning from various sectors that supplies would run short.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps nevertheless insisted he was taking action “at the earliest opportunity” and that a broader package of measures announced would ensure pre-christmas preparations “remain on track”.
“The industries must also play their part with working conditions continuing to improve,” he added.
But one business leader dismissed the new measures as inadequate.
“This announcement is the equivalent of throwing a thimble of water on a bonfire,” said Ruby Mcgregorsmith, president of the British Chambers of Commerce.
The additional testing would take time to impact while new visa numbers were “insufficient” and not “enough to address the scale of the problem”, she added.
The new measures will focus on rapidly expanding the number of new domestic drivers, and include deploying Ministry of Defence driving examiners to help provide thousands of extra tests over the next 12 weeks.