Transport body calls on Government to intervene
The Road Haulage Association, a trade body which represents haulage companies, has written to the Prime Minister calling for measures to help reverse the driver shortage, which is at ‘crisis point’.
RHA chief executive Richard Burnett told the Prime Minister in his letter: “It is our collective view that there has never been a more challenging time for this industry and we urge you to take these decisive steps to ensure that we can continue to maintain the UK’S integrated and finely balanced supply chains.”
He said prior to the pandemic, the driver shortage was in excess of 60,000 – but that number is now at more than 100,000.
He warned that these ‘critical supply chains are failing’ and gave several reasons for this as well as actions the Government could take to help.
The letter has been signed by those representing the producers and distributors of foods and drinks, energy suppliers and many other familiar names in the logistics sector.
He lists Covid as one factor which has exacerbated the problem – with many drivers returning to their country of origin during extended periods of lockdown. Another factor was Brexit, and he said the uncertainty around future rights to live and work in the UK has forced many drivers to leave the industry.
Retiring drivers was another factor, and Mr Burnett said the average age of an HGV driver is 55, with fewer than one per cent under 25. He added that a test shortage also put extra pressure on. Mr Burnett said in a typical year, 72,000 candidates train to become HGV drivers with 40,000 succeeding. “The complete shutdown of vocational driving tests throughout much of last year resulted in the loss of over 30,000 test slots and only 15,000 were able to complete training successfully – a drop of 25,000 from the previous year,” he said. And finally he lists the introduction of IR35, which he says has resulted in agency labour withdrawing their services as low-profit margin logistics businesses cannot sustain demands for £5-£6 per hour rate increases.
He continued: “We are grateful to Ministers from the Departments for Transport, and Work and Pensions, who have met with us to discuss solutions, but it is clear, despite best intentions, that there is no immediate plan. We firmly believe that intervention from the Prime Minister/cabinet Office is the only way that we will be able to avert critical supply chains failing at an unprecedented and unimaginable level. Supermarkets are already reporting that they are not receiving their expected food stocks and, as a result, there is considerable wastage.
“To make the situation even worse, summer holidays are fast approaching, and drivers will take their leave entitlement. The lack of agency drivers to help support their absence will exacerbate the problem even further as will continued unlocking of the economy and the spikes in demand for food and drink created by the hot weather and major sporting events. Furthermore, the Christmas build that retailers begin in August/september will be seriously affected – all of which will affect Government’s ability to ‘build back better’.”
He asked for the following actions to be taken: “1. We need an immediate solution to this problem - we are not going to solve this now by training drivers and as such need access to EU and EEA labour. We ask for the introduction of a temporary worker visa for HGV drivers and for this occupation to be added to the Home Office Shortage Occupation List.
“2. Government needs to work with the industry to help address the broader issues around the skills shortage. We must work collectively to achieve a sustainable way of recruiting and training a homegrown workforce so that our reliance on foreign labour dissipates over time. We ask that a taskforce is immediately established to include representation from all of the relevant areas of Government and industry to help drive this change at the pace that is so desperately needed.
“3. The DEFRA Food Resilience Industry Forum, chaired by Chris Tyas, helped to ensure the nation’s supply integrity throughout the pandemic. This was recently disbanded.
“However, in view of the growing crisis, it must be re-established at the earliest opportunity.”
For more on the RHA, visit: www.rha.uk.net