It’s not Brexit to blame for the lack of HGV drivers but the short-sighted haulage industry

SIR – I am perplexed as to why so many people are blaming the Government for the shortage of HGV drivers.

Surely it is the responsibility of any industry to ensure it has an adequate workforce, and I do not believe that there were 100,000 – the size of the shortage estimated by the Road Haulage Association – European drivers who have all gone home as a result of Brexit.

Even if this were the case, it is a devastating indictment of the haulage industry’s management that it did not see this coming and recruit and train accordingly.

CR Rowe

Liphook, Hampshire

SIR – In the past, retired HGV drivers would often cover permanent staff when they took holidays or sick leave.

Then the Driver Certificate in Professional Competence was introduced from the European Union. This meant that drivers with 30 years’ experience had to sit in a classroom for five days every five years – paid for by themselves and often at weekends, as the haulage companies did not take responsibility for this training. Many older drivers said they would rather be at home, so the part-time driver disappeared.

If the Government is serious about getting experienced drivers back to work, suspending this requirement would help.

Paul Matthews

Ross-on-wye, Herefordshire

SIR – I know someone who obtained an HGV licence. On his first day on the road he was 10 minutes over the time allowed on the tachograph when he checked back in, which resulted in a £1,000 fine.

He is no longer an HGV driver. June Bennett

Lytham, Lancashire

SIR – Why would HGV drivers from Europe, where there is already a shortage of drivers, want to leave their homes and families to work in Britain for three months and then be sent home on Christmas Eve? Surely we need military assistance right now, immediate intensive training for British drivers and a guaranteed minimum wage for all HGV drivers, which will prevent companies from trying to recruit cheap labour from abroad.

Nigel Scotland

Cheltenham, Gloucestershire

SIR – The consideration of temporarily hiring people from abroad for lorry driving, poultry working and seasonal fruit picking suggests a mature approach at long last to immigration.

It was always the understanding, echoed in contracts, in the territories where I worked, from central Africa to the Middle East, that I would be present for as long as they wanted me, not the other way around.

It applied to all British workers, whether agriculturalists, barristers, medical staff or teachers like me.

Were such an approach to be adopted here, the benefits would be substantial. Supply nations would no longer be permanently bereft of expertise they can ill afford to lose, and there would be added impetus to train our own workforce in required areas, while at the same time plugging temporary gaps.

Edward Thomas

Eastbourne, East Sussex

SIR – At the risk of sounding smug, I am enjoying the petrol crisis. I set myself the challenge of seeing if it was possible to live, shop and work without a car, so last week I took to the cycle paths around the city centre on my electric bike.

What a joy. I managed to get my shopping and all my local work done. For work further afield I’m using the buses and trams.

It’s been totally liberating, with the fresh air and the feeling of being part of the buzz of the city. Obviously it’s not for everyone, but I would heartily recommend it as an option to consider.

John Howard