UK to issue 10,500 post-Brexit visas to ease staff shortages, experts cast doubts

The UK government on Saturday, 25 September, said that it will issue up to 10,500 temporary work visas for lorry drivers and poultry workers in a bid to ease chronic staff shortages. According to BBC, the short-term visas will start next month and last until late December as the government is seeking to limit disruptions in the run-up to Christmas. Currently, the government confirmed that around 5,000 fuel tanker and food lorry drivers will be eligible to work in the UK for three months, while the scheme will later be extended to 5,500 poultry workers. 

The latest move comes as shortage of lorry drivers has caused problems for a range of industries in recent months. Recently, some fuel deliveries have also been reportedly affected, leading to huge queues at petrol stations. However, now UK’s Department for Transport announced the scheme designed to tackle a widespread shortage of lorry drivers caused by a combination of Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic.

With the upcoming festive season, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said that after a very difficult 18 months, the government is taking these steps at the “earliest opportunity” to ensure preparations remain on track. However, he also added that his department recognised that importing foreign labour “will not be the long-term solution” to the problem. He added that the officials also wanted to see employers invest to build a “high-wage, high-skill economy”. 

Extra visas 'not a long-term solution'

The government said that “reform within the industry is vital,” therefore, it continues to support the industry in solving the issue through improved testing and hiring. Additionally, the Transport Ministry said that Ministry of Defence examiners will be increasing HGV (heavy goods vehicle) testing capacity, and sending nearly one million letters to drivers who hold an HGV licence, encouraging them back into the industry. However, the ministry insisted that extra visas would not be the long-term solution to the crisis.

Meanwhile, other measures designed to ease the crisis include the training of up to 4,000 people as new HGV drivers. Moreover, the Department for Education is investing up to £10m to create free “skills boot camps” to train up to 3,000 of the new HGV drivers. The government said that another 1,000 would also be trained through local courses funded by the government’s adult education budget. 

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