Almost 200 Military tanker personnel, 100 of which are drivers, will be deployed from Monday to provide temporary support as part of the government’s wider action to further relieve pressure on petrol stations and address the shortage of HGV drivers.
Demand for fuel has stabilised throughout the week and more fuel is now being delivered than is being sold, however some parts of the country still face challenges.
To help fuel stocks further improve, military personnel are currently undertaking their training at haulier sites across the country and from Monday will be on the road delivering fuel supplies across the country.
This comes alongside a range of measures the Government is taking to ease temporary supply chain pressures in food haulage industries, brought on by the pandemic and the global economy rebounding around the world. In a further step to manage these pressures in the short term, the Government is introducing a bespoke scheme allowing up to 300 fuel tanker drivers to the UK on a temporary basis. In these exceptional circumstances, the Home Office is allowing a number of fuel haulage drivers to work in the UK immediately. Hauliers will find licensed drivers to recruit and will submit applications to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy which will endorse applicants with the necessary license and a contract to work as a fuel driver.
This forms part of the temporary immigration arrangements announced last week to help provide short term relief for the food and fuel industries and ensure the stability of the UK supply chain in the run up to Christmas. These time limited measures will facilitate the recruitment of the following cohorts over the coming days and weeks:
- 300 fuel drivers who will be able to arrive immediately (subject to immigration checks, and endorsement from BEIS) and stay to work until the end of March 2022
- 4,700 food haulage drivers who will arrive from late October and leave by 28 February 2022
- 5,500 poultry workers who will arrive from late October and be able stay up to 31 December 2021