Start Christmas shopping now, warns minister
Lorry driver shortage ‘could mean empty shelves’
FAMILIES should do their Christmas shopping now because a shortage of lorry drivers has raised fears that there could be empty shelves in the shops, the Transport Secretary said last night.
Thousands of hauliers have quit over the past few months following a new European Union rule forcing them to sign up to expensive training.
I n an i nterview, Patrick McLoughlin said he ‘hopes and thinks’ there will be no problems in the next six weeks, before adding: ‘But I’d advise everybody to get their shopping done.’
Lorry drivers have warned of an oncoming ‘crisis’, with the threat of Christmas ‘being put on hold’ ahead of the busiest festive period in terms of spending since the banking crisis.
Deliveries of presents bought online from firms such as Amazon could also be affected, hauliers warn. And Christmas meals could be affected because perishable vegetables could be delayed.
The EU’s new training rules mean the logistics industry is 60,000 drivers short, according to the UK Commission for Employment and Skills.
And the Freight Transport Association (FTA) claims 20,000 drivers have either taken early retirement or moved to different jobs since the Certificate of Professional Competence became mandatory in September.
The qualification involves 35 hours of training and costs up to £300. Drivers who do not hold it risk a £1,000 fine.
James Hookham, managing director of the FTA, said: ‘This is the first Christmas when we have had this requirement and many drivers are saying, “I didn’t take up truck-driving to go back to school” and just voting with their feet.’
Kate Gibbs, of t he Road Haulage Association, said: ‘ There i s a possibility that shelves will empty and be slower to fill this Christmas.
‘We always see people stocking up at Christmas as if the shops are going to be closed for two months.
‘It is the perishable goods – t he big bags of mandarin oranges, the vegetables that go with the turkey. All of the perishable goods have a rapid turn- over and a short shelf life. We have got to make sure those shelves are filled.’
Julian Thompson, managing director at logistics recruitment company 24-7 Staffing, said: ‘It’s a crisis. Christmas could be put on hold.’
And agencies that provide extra drivers during the preChristmas peak say they have no more to spare.
Meanwhile Andrew Starkey, of IMRG, which represents online
‘Christmas could be put on hold’
retailers, said there were signs that less-experienced drivers were being used to meet the shortfall.
He said: ‘I’ve had a delivery of wine that has failed to turn up three times. When I queried it I was told, “Terribly sorry we’ve got a temporary driver on”.’
In an interview with the ConservativeHome website, Mr McLoughlin admitted there was a shortage of lorry drivers.
But he defended the EU’s new training requirements, saying: ‘If you’re driving a motor vehicle, with the investment you’ve got in that motor vehicle, it’s no bad thing to know what you’re doing.
Asked whether he would be doing his Christmas shopping early, he said: ‘No. I’d rather not go in to my Christmas present list. I’m actually a bit better prepared this year than I am most years. My wife’s very worried about it. I’ve told her I’ve sorted her present out.’
Last night, sources close to Mr McLoughlin said the Christmas shopping warning was only a ‘light-hearted exchange’.
‘We don’t think there’s any real concern,’ the source said. ‘Driver training makes our roads safer, helping the delivery of presents on time.’
In a Commons debate last month, Tory MP Philip Hollobone warned: ‘The country faces a national shortage of 40,000 qualified HGV drivers, which is acting as a brake on national economic growth.’
Douglas McCormick, from the UK Commission for Employment and Skills, has said: ‘Because logistics underpins the operation of so many other businesses we often do not think about it by itself, but its overall contribution to the economy is huge.’