The UK pledges to “do whatever it takes” to tackle the country’s shortage of truck drivers. To this end, the British government will, among other things, double the capacity of the driving tests for truck drivers.

 

The shortage of drivers forced oil company BP, among others, to close a number of its filling stations. Esso of ExxonMobil also said a small number of its 200 Tesco Alliance outlets were affected. The shortage of drivers also hampers the supply of supermarkets.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps told Sky News to “move heaven and earth” to resolve truck drivers’ shortages. However, suppliers warn that more shortages could arise due to a lack of drivers. Nevertheless, Shapps believes that government measures can quickly solve the crisis.

The transport sector says it currently needs about 90,000 additional drivers. About 25,000 drivers have returned to Europe as a result of Brexit. The corona crisis also brought the process of admitting new employees into the United Kingdom to a halt.

Supermarkets and farmers have called on the government to address labour shortages in key sectors. In addition to truck drivers, this also concerns personnel in the processing industry and agriculture. The staff shortages in those sectors have put pressure on the food supply chain, it is said.