Britain expected to ease visa rules as truck driver shortage bites

Britain is expected to announce plans to issue temporary work visas to truck drivers to ease an acute labour shortage that has led to fuel rationing at hundreds of gas stations and long queues to fill up - with pumps running dry in some places.

As retailers warned of significant disruption in the run-up to Christmas, Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s office said it was looking at temporary measures to address the shortage of heavy goods vehicle (HGV) drivers. Newspapers reported that the government would allow up to 5,000 foreign drivers into Britain on short-term visas, a measure that logistics companies and retailers have demanded for months but which the government had previously ruled out.

The UK’s Road Haulage Association (RHA) says Britain needs 100,000 more drivers if it is to meet demand.

Shortages of truckers have been caused partly by Brexit and COVID-19, which put a stop to driver training and testing for about a year.