UK Edition
European lorry drivers could be granted work visas more easily in a bid to solve a growing haulier crisis, under proposals being considered by government officials.
The Telegraph has learnt that the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is looking at lorry drivers being placed on the shortage occupations list, meaning they are more likely to qualify under the new points-based immigration system.
The list, which includes professions such as key healthcare workers, gives migrants hoping to fill the jobs an advantage in obtaining a skilled work visa.
However, sources have claimed the proposals are being resisted by the Department for Transport (DfT), which has already announced a temporary extension of lorry drivers' working hours to try to alleviate the problem.
Industry leaders are calling for a scheme that would be similar to the six-month seasonal work visa, which is primarily aimed at enabling European farm workers to fill vacancies during the picking season, but the Home Office has also said previously there are no plans for this.
Amid mounting pressure, it is understood that Grant Shapps, the Transport Secretary, and George Eustice, the Environment Secretary, will instead announce plans to consult with the industry on potential solutions.
It comes amid warnings that a lack of lorry drivers is threatening the ability of haulage companies to deliver to shops and retailers as the economy reopens after lockdown.
The Road Haulage Association estimates that there is currently a shortfall of about 60,000 hauliers, which industry figures say is being exacerbated by EU workers returning home after Brexit.
The sector is also suffering from the impact of the pandemic, which prevented thousands of new drivers from taking tests last year. At the same time, many foreign hauliers left when work dried up during the early stages of the pandemic and have since been unable to return because of post-Brexit immigration rules.
While supermarkets are believed to be largely shielded from the crisis because haulage companies are prioritising their contracts, the shortage is having a serious knock-on effect for smaller shops and retailers.
Ministers have called for the industry to hire more British drivers, with government insiders arguing that the shortages are mainly due to older lorry drivers deciding not to return to the road.
But haulage leaders have pointed out that training new drivers takes up to six months and will fail to plug the shortages currently being experienced. They have also warned that the decision to extend lorry drivers' hours until August 8 – announced last week – will do little to ease the problems.
"There is no way of importing qualified labour that can start tomorrow," one said. "They are not on an occupational shortage list, so we can't bring them in. It takes six months to train new drivers."
On Wednesday, a Defra source did not deny that putting lorry drivers on the shortage occupation list had been discussed. However, the source did deny that there were tensions with the DfT, insisting the two departments were working together to find solutions.