Labour is once again urging the Government to act to set up an HGV
crisis taskforce, after pleas from the industry to help address a
90,000 driver shortage.
Businesses have been left without supplies and unable to move
goods in recent weeks due to a lack of qualified drivers – a
situation compounded by Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic.
Following Transport Questions in the Commons on Thursday, where
Labour’s Shadow Transport Secretary raised the issue, Labour has written to Transport
Secretary to again urge ministers to act.
McMahon called on the Government to immediately meet the request
of trade unions and industry bodies to establish a taskforce to
tackle the problem before supply chain issues impact Christmas.
Labour has also urged ministers to adopt its five-point plan,
including handing a minister specific responsibility for tackling
the supply chain crisis and referring the issue of adding HGV
drivers to the Shortage Occupation List to the Migration Advisory
Committee.
In the letter, McMahon said: “It's long past the time for the
Government to get a grip on the supply chain crisis facing our
economy.
“As today’s responses in the House have shown, ministers are
acting as if the problem will solve itself, while businesses are
telling them these problems are only going to grow.
“The serious disruption and added costs risk harming our
recovery. The Government must act now.”
Ends
Notes to Editors
Full copy of the letter to the Transport Secretary:
Dear Grant,
I am again writing to you again today regarding the shortage of
HGV drivers and the ongoing disruption it’s caused, after our
exchange at Transport Questions in Parliament today, as there
remains a series of unanswered questions.
As I noted today, this has been a summer where Ministers have
shown an abject failure of duty whether over the exams fiasco,
Afghanistan and I’m afraid to say also regarding the HGV driver
shortage.
We’ve seen high profile examples of businesses impacted by the
supply chain disruption, including McDonald’s running out of
milkshakes, Nando’s running out of chicken, and Wetherspoon’s
running out of beer.
The situation is only set to get worse and is looking likely to
affect the delivery of vital medicines, such as this winter’s flu
vaccine.
We’ve already seen the number of people wanting to do HGV driver
tests has fallen off a cliff. You’ll know that in 2019, 24,000
people passed the LGV theory test, yet just 9,000 went on to
complete the practical test.
Yet even with this, and industry warning of a crisis coming,
nothing was done.
As I said today, while we may disagree on what caused this
crisis, the Government hasn’t even accepted it’s their job to
solve it, not just sit on the side lines.
Will you commit to immediately meet the request of trade unions
and industry bodies to establish an HGV Taskforce before it’s too
late?
As part of this taskforce, we need to see Ministers bring forward
a road freight recovery plan tackling head on blockages caused by
Covid-19, the Conservative’s Brexit deal, and pre-existing
structural issues. Will you do so?
It’s clear that the long-term problems in the HGV sector will not
be solved by making drivers work longer hours, but by training
workers and improving terms and conditions. The Government
response has been inadequate and dangerous, planning to pile
further pressure on exhausted drivers and risking road safety by
diluting test requirements for new drivers rather than expanding
capacity.
As you know, Labour is calling for the Government to act urgently
with a clear five-point plan to solve the acute supply chain
crisis:
1. Appoint a government minister with specific responsibility for
tackling the supply chain crisis and coordinating across multiple
government departments.
2. Set up a taskforce to work sector by sector to identify gaps
and recruit into key roles. This should include rapidly expanding
testing for HGV drivers, and part or wholly funding HGV training
drawing on available funding for targeted sectors and recruiting.
The Government should also support 100,000 new apprentices this
financial year to help boost employment in key sectors.
3. Refer the issue of adding HGV drivers to the Shortage
Occupation List to the Migration Advisory Committee to provide
advice to government to help address the crisis in the
short-term, given warnings from businesses about the risk to
Christmas trade.
4. Bring together business and unions to address long-term issues
of wages and conditions in key sectors, recognising that the
Government’s belief in a low-wage, insecure labour market is key
to the crisis we are seeing.
5. Limit further disruption to supply chains from the planned
introduction of initial food import controls on October 1st by
working to secure an urgent veterinary agreement with the
European Union.
It's long past the time for the Government to get a grip on the
supply chain crisis facing our economy. As today’s responses in
the House have shown, ministers are acting as if the problem will
solve itself, while businesses are telling them these problems
are only going to grow.
The serious disruption and added costs risk harming our recovery.
The Government must act now.
Yours sincerely,
Jim
