UK - England, Wales, N.Ireland, Scotland

[RTH10260]

DVSA to recruit an extra 40 additional vocational driving examiners to help reduce lorry driver shortage
Measures ramped up to maximise testing capacity, including consulting on plans to streamline process for drivers to obtain an HGV licence.

16 August 2021

A campaign to recruit additional vocational driving examiners in England and Wales to help reduce the lorry driver shortage has been launched by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) today (16 August 2021).

40 new vocational examiners will be recruited in total, made up of existing DVSA employees and external candidates.

The government wrote to the UK haulage industry on 20 July 2021 outlining a package of measures to help address the lorry driver shortage.

It acknowledged that increasing the availability of vocational driving tests is key to this issue.

DVSA continues to develop measures to maximise testing capacity, including consulting on plans to streamline the process for drivers to gain their heavy goods vehicle (HGV) licence. The additional examiners will enable DVSA to offer more lorry driving test appointments.

It has already increased the number of vocational driving tests from 2,000 a week pre-pandemic to 3,000 by overtime and allocating additional employees into testing.



https://www.gov.uk/government/news/dvsa ... r-shortage

[RTH10260]

Why are driving test examiners going on strike and how will it affect driving tests?
Driving test examiners have voted in favour of strike action due to the workload new plans are proposing - the plans would see examiners having to take on an extra test each day in order to catch-up with the Covid backlog.
The strike is planned for October.


Driving test examiners have overwhelmingly voted nine to one in favour of striking due to workload.

The additional workload will see examiners forced to fit more tests into their working day from next month but with a backlog to get through, some are worried about the health and safety implications if plans are approved.

The backlog, which is due to Brexit with the majority of issues stemming from the Covid pandemic, is predicted to be around 400,000 hence the reason why the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) wants examiners to fit another test into their daily schedule - but their trade union believes this could lower standards and pose a safety risk meaning learner drivers could have their tests postponed further.

The majority vote came as the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union recently balloted its affected members on whether to take industrial action with 92% of those who voted saying they were prepared to go on strike.

But what else do we know about the strike and how will this affect learner drivers?

Why are driving test examiners going on strike?

Driving test examiners are set to strike against the DVSA’s plans to increase the number of daily driving tests from seven to eight in order to clear the backlog caused by the pandemic.

The PCS have said that making examiners handle eight tests a day would hinder their performance and compromise standards, potentially putting other road users at risk from unfit drivers as a result.

They have also raised concerns that examiners could quit if the change is implemented.



https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/driv ... e-21695779

[Volkonski]

Yesterday as we drove to the South Fork to get our vaccines a truck passed us that was so large that it seemed to fill the other lane from side to side. It seemed to be about 40% longer than most 18 wheelers
It carried auto parts.

It was scary.

I just hoped that the driver knew his/her stuff.

[Volkonski]

[RTH10260]

from the government that couldn't order the correct satelite system for an own GPS replacement system

Boris Johnson: Global Britain will become 'Galactic Britain' with new space strategy
Boris Johnson wants to send more satellites into space

By Laura Webster Digital Audience and Content Editor
28th September

THE UK Government has published its new National Space Strategy, with Boris Johnson claiming “Global Britain” can now become “Galactic Britain”.

The report, which focuses on putting “the UK firmly in the front rank of the global space industry”, was due to be published in 2018 but has been delayed for unknown reasons.

The 42-page document sees the Government vow to make the UK the first in Europe to launch a small satellite next year from spaceports which are currently under development.

A number of these proposed spaceports are in Scotland, in Shetland, Sutherland, Argyll, Prestwick and Outer Hebrides; while there are also locations in Cornwall and Snowdonia.

The Government also claims its space strategy will help the UK fight climate change with new technologies and “modernise” transport systems.

In his foreword to the report, Johnson says the strategy is all about “tapping our vast pools of talent and enthusiasm”.

“It’s a plan that will level up the UK by bringing opportunity to every part of it, with satellites being propelled into orbit from as far afield as Cornwall and Sutherland as soon as next year,” the Prime Minister writes.

“A plan that will create more jobs by putting rocket boosters the size of a Saturn V’s F1 under British space businesses. And a plan that will see us take a leading role on the international stage, Global Britain becoming Galactic Britain as we work with other nations to pursue exciting missions and with the UN to set the standards that will ensure space is used responsibly and safely.”

However, the claims of leading the world in space have not gone down too well so far.



https://www.thenational.scot/news/19609 ... -strategy/

[Uninformed]

Boris’s answer to the Space Force? Or maybe a way to return to whatever planet he comes from.

[Foggy]

I think he got the idea from Romana Didulo.

[RTH10260]

Boris’s answer to the Space Force? Or maybe a way to return to whatever planet he comes from.

I picked this up from a comment by a vlogger who turned his eyes skywards One of Boris' one day brain farts. But uttered at the worst moment in time. Where to get all those builders to create the scattered infrastructure? Where to get the transport capacity when already insufficient drivers and lorries? Where to get the petrol for the transport when the queues at the gas station are growing by the minute? Least and not last where to find the engineers and scientists when immigration is frowned upon?

The vloger reminded his viewers of other Boris' brain farts, like the idea of a road tunnel between Scotland (most southwest tip) and N.Ireland. Turns out that the geology there is the worst thing, all soft sediments. And the UK army used that spot to dump vast amounts of discarded ammuntions from the wars.

[RTH10260]

nothing to see, you can go home now...

Fuel crisis: UK government mobilises reserve tanker fleet and army
Business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng confirms 150 soldiers being trained to deliver supplies to petrol stations

Julia Kollewe
Wed 29 Sep 2021 16.08 BST

The government’s reserve tanker fleet has been deployed to help tackle the fuel supply crisis at UK petrol stations, as soldiers train to join the distribution effort within days.

The business secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, said the government was sending out the civilian-driven fleet on Wednesday afternoon. The reserve fleet numbers 80 vehicles, according to a 2019 assessment.

Kwarteng added that 150 soldiers were being mobilised to help boost supplies at forecourts hit by panic buying. The troops are HGV qualified but need extra training to enable them to drive huge fuel tankers.

The business secretary said the fuel shortages situation was stabilising, and urged drivers to return to their normal buying habits.

“We are now seeing signs that the situation at the pumps has begun to improve with more stations getting more fuel,” Kwarteng tweeted. “The sooner we can all return to our normal buying habits, the sooner the situation will return to normal.”

The Petrol Retailers Association (PRA), which represents two-thirds of UK filling stations, also said the fuel crisis was easing. Its executive director, Gordon Balmer, said: “There are encouraging signs that the crisis at the pumps is easing, with forecourts reporting that they are taking further deliveries of fuel.

“Only 27% of PRA members have reported being out of fuel today, and with regular restocks taking place, we are expecting to see the easing continue over the next 24 hours.”



https://www.theguardian.com/business/20 ... t-and-army

[RTH10260]

‘Desperate choices’ this winter as three more UK energy suppliers toppled by price surge
Citizens Advice says consumers moved to new supplier likely to pay extra £30 a month

Rob Davies
Thu 30 Sep 2021 00.00 BST

Households are facing “desperate choices” this winter, with energy bills rising by £30 a month for those who have had to switch supplier owing to a wave of energy company failures, as three more collapsed on Wednesday.

Rising gas prices have driven 12 energy companies under this year, forcing the regulator, Ofgem, to transfer 2m customer accounts to surviving suppliers. The collapse of a further three will force the regulator to move 233,000 more customer accounts, with bills expected to increase as a result.

Ofgem said Igloo Energy, Symbio Energy and Enstroga had become the latest companies to succumb to a gathering crisis that shows no sign of abating, with gas prices remaining stubbornly high amid international shortages as winter approaches.

The regulator emphasised that customers would not have any disruption to the supply of energy to their homes, adding that anyone with credit in their accounts with those companies would not lose their money.

But it will have to find a new provider for nearly a quarter of a million people through its “supplier of last resort” scheme, under which financially healthy companies take on customers from collapsed rivals.

Those that were on cheaper fixed-rate tariffs, often used by smaller, start-up energy companies to woo new customers, will see their bills increase to the government’s energy cap, which is £1,277 for a household with average usage.

A report by Citizens Advice, published today, has found that consumers who are moved to a new supplier typically pay £30 a month more than before. Advisers at the charity fear many will face fuel poverty this winter and could end up turning off their fridges and freezers, relying on hot-water bottles for warmth and requesting support to buy extra duvets and blankets.



https://www.theguardian.com/money/2021/ ... rice-surge

[MisterC]

‘Getting into Europe is a relief every time’: an HGV driver reflects on UK crisis
Christopher Johns talks about what conditions are like for drivers in the UK and whether any solutions might be forthcoming

Given how congested some of the services are on the European highways, I can't imagine how bad it is in the UK. In some places it's not unusual to see trucks parked from the beginning of the slip road leading into the services, all the way to the end of the slip road leading back on the highway

Also, I wouldn't be surprised if John Q. Public read the above and thought "If you don't like it at one services, just drive until you find a better one", ignorant of the fact that once the red light comes on the digital tachograph, you're not moving much further without risking a serious fine. Granted, some entrepreneurial spirits in the Eastern parts of Europe have come up with various gadgets to suspend it, but getting caught with one of those fitted will ensure an even heavier fine.

[RTH10260]

The ending of UK food export to the EU and preventing the UK from ever joining the EU

Genetically modified food a step closer in England as laws relaxed
Government removes costs and red tape in go-ahead for more trials of gene edited crops

Fiona Harvey Environment correspondent
Wed 29 Sep 2021 07.00 BST

The prospect of genetically modified foods being grown and sold in the UK has come a step closer after changes to farming regulations that will allow field trials of gene edited crops in England.

Companies or research organisations wishing to conduct field trials will still have to notify the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the government announced on Wednesday, but existing costs and red tape will be removed so more trials are likely to go ahead.

The immediate change is small, and affects only England, but the government says it will be followed by plans for new primary legislation that will allow far greater use of gene editing in crops in the UK, and a redefinition in law of genetic modification.

That could open the way to the sale of gene-edited crops developed in the field trials, and to further steps such as gene editing in animals, and potentially the production and sale of genetically modified organisms in the UK.

George Eustice, the environment secretary, said: “Gene editing has the ability to harness the genetic resources that nature has provided. It is a tool that could help us in order to tackle some of the biggest challenges that we face – around food security, climate change and biodiversity loss.”

Ministers are keen to use Brexit to allow gene editing, a form of genetic modification that is heavily restricted in the EU, to be used in the UK, despite a public consultation that found 87% of people who responded viewed gene-edited crops as a greater risk than traditional crop breeding methods.




https://www.theguardian.com/environment ... ws-relaxed

[RTH10260]

The Great Train Staff Robbery

Free flights and $1,000 vouchers: Australian hospitality sector lures UK workers
As the industry prepares to ramp up again amid staff shortages, one company is offering big incentives to British workers

Rafqa Touma
Thu 30 Sep 2021 18.30 BST

Chelsee Whitehead has worked in the hospitality industry since she left high school four years ago. Before Covid-19, she always thought her industry was secure.

“I picked hospitality because I thought it was an industry that would always be booming. I thought it was a sector that can’t be shaken,” she says. “Then Covid happened and turned that around. It has made work unstable, and has completely changed the environment.”

Currently working an all-rounder job in a hotel on reception, concierge, back of house and customer service, Whitehead says she is lucky to still have work. Following shutdowns, job losses and the drying up of international customers and workers, she says many hospitality workers who were once social and passionate about work have “completely let go of the sector”.

The hospitality industry in Australia is suffering widespread staff shortages, prompted in part by the closure of international borders and the exit of thousands of international students and working holiday visa holders who would normally comprise a significant proportion of the workforce.

Now, as many jurisdictions eye reopening hospitality over the coming months, concerns about staff shortages are growing.

In anticipation of a significant shortfall of hospitality workers as Australia reopens , Australian Venue Co, which operates more than 170 hospitality venues across the country, has launched an ambitious recruitment drive to bring in 500 hospitality workers from the UK.


https://www.theguardian.com/business/20 ... uk-workers

[RTH10260]

UK Financial Services Sector Calls for Eased Visa Requirements to Keep Competitiveness
By Huw Jones | September 30, 2021

LONDON — Britain’s financial sector has called on the government to ease visa requirements on overseas staff who want to work up to six months in the country to maintain global competitiveness.

A Global Talent Mobility report from TheCityUK, City of London Corporation and consultants EY on Thursday set out ways to overcome “practical challenges” being faced by banks, fintech and insurers in hiring sufficient talent.

A “hybrid” short-term business visa would allow staff to work in Britain for a short time without the red tape involved with full work visa requirements, the report said.

“Without it, we will not be able to innovate in key growth areas like fintech or green finance, nor build out our international trading networks,” said Miles Celic, CEO of TheCityUK.

The report said that within UK-based financial services, 19.5% of workers are international, rising to 42% in fintech, one of the growth areas in finance targeted by the government.

Since the introduction of Britain’s new immigration system in January, financial and related professional services firms are seeing significant cost increases to securing the high-skilled talent they need to compete on the global stage, the report said.

Worries about recruiting have become central for finance after Britain fully left the European Union last December, largely cutting off the city from the continent.

Ending the free movement of EU workers in Britain is a central tenet of Brexit, and Britain has just reluctantly agreed temporary visas for 5,000 foreign truck drivers until Christmas after gas pumps ran dry across the country.

Britain’s finance ministry has already said it would introduce a “fast track” work visa in the fintech sector and is reviewing rules on intra-company staffing transfers.




https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/i ... 634449.htm

[RTH10260]

to note that a visa for a worker is often not enough. Workers wish to have their family join. And many times that ought to include a work visa for the spouse.

[RTH10260]

Military drivers to deliver fuel from Monday as temporary HGV visas extended

The Independent
1 Oct 2021

The military will start delivering fuel to petrol stations from next week in a bid to tackle the the ongoing supply crisis caused by a shortage of HGV drivers as well as a burst of panic buying.

Almost 200 military personnel in total are currently being trained at haulier sites to deliver the petrol and diesel on a temporary basis.

About 100 of the personnel who are military tanker drivers will be set to start delivering fuel to forecourts across the country from Monday, the Cabinet Office said.

[RTH10260]

Emergency visa scheme extended in major U-turn by Boris Johnson
Threat of Christmas being ruined by driver shortages forces ministers to expand range and duration of visas

Rajeev Syal
Fri 1 Oct 2021 22.00 BST

Boris Johnson’s government has made a dramatic U-turn in an attempt to save Christmas – with a raft of extended emergency visas to help abate labour shortages that have led to empty shelves and petrol station queues.

New immigration measures will allow 300 fuel drivers to arrive immediately and stay until the end of March

, while 100 army drivers will take to the roads from Monday, the government announced late on Friday.

About 4,700 further food haulage drivers will arrive from late October and leave by the end of February.

The rules mean that the government has relented to lobbying from the fuel and food industries and extended some temporary visa schemes beyond Christmas Eve and into the new year.

The move, designed to tackle chronic disruption to supply chains, is a major change in policy after ministers previously insisted they would not relax immigration rules in response to the crisis.

It comes as Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, demanded that parliament should be recalled to sort out the fuel and food shortages.

Almost 200 military personnel, including 100 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.

The announcement also confirmed that 5,500 poultry workers will arrive from late October and will be allowed to stay until the end of this year.



https://www.theguardian.com/business/20 ... is-johnson

[RTH10260]

What's the phrase - "too few too late" ? While I believe that they will be able to fill some positions with a six month visa I still have doubts that they can find the specialy qualified drivers for fuel tankers. The EU offers them steady jobs at home, pay conditions and extra perks would need to be over the top to lure them to the island. A shortage of turkeys can be taken for granted cause the processing for the holidays has already started in September, two months worth of work cannot be recovered by the flick of fingers. And again, those workers have yet to be found and arrive in the UK. I predict a lack of small birds in the shops and too many large critters, large ones now need extra work to make small cuts from them.

[RTH10260]

Germans with no HGV experience asked to drive lorries amid UK fuel crisis
Mass appeal automatically sent to holders of pre-1999 German licences, which entitle holder to drive trucks

Julia Kollewe and Graeme Wearden
Fri 1 Oct 2021 18.03 BST

Thousands of Germans who live in the UK have been written to by the government asking them to drive lorries in an attempt to ease the UK fuel crisis, even though the majority have never been at the wheel of an HGV.

They were included in a 1m-letter mass mailing that also tried to recruit ambulance drivers to get behind the wheel of lorries.

The recruitment drive is aimed at easing the UK’s supply chain shortages and a lack of petrol at forecourts.

The news came as a government minister warned that motorists could face another week of queues at the pumps and an industry body said more than a quarter (26%) of independently owned petrol stations in the UK were still dry.

The Germans were automatically included in the mailout because German driving licences issued before 1999 include an entitlement to drive small- to medium-sized trucks of up to 7.5 tonnes.

A Department for Transport (DfT) spokesperson explained that UK residents from Germany who swapped their licence for a British one would have had that element transferred to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) database. This meant they were included in the HGV category, which also covered ambulance drivers, when the DVLA sent out the letter.

The DfT said: “The letter was automatically sent to almost 1 million people with lorry licences - including a limited number of international residents who were automatically eligible. Anyone wishing to drive professionally faces further tests and training.”




https://www.theguardian.com/business/20 ... uel-crisis

[RTH10260]

why would anyone with a small lorry permit be suddenly enticed to switch to the big monsters? They had that option for years, eg to do the extra training and make the exams, exactly those exams that are now on the backburner cause of covid. But why does the government think it is a good idea to try and get drivers to switch categories, they would just be leaving an open position in their current jobs? Though getting someone to drive small lorries is much easier. Apart that that category of vehicles is used for day time local distribution. used by vendors and production companies owning the vehicles for own use, not requiring the outsourcing of large and heavy transport capacities.

[Volkonski]

[RTH10260]

I recall this story from earlier this week (sorry, no link): folks did observe a fuel tanker on its way to a petrol station. Within minutes the queues started to build up even before he had a chance to unload. By late afternoon the petrol station was dry. Provisions that would normally have last a week were gone in less than a day

[RTH10260]

Dominic Raab’s suggestion that prisoners plug the HGV lorry driver gap has people scoffing
Kate Plummer
2 days ago

Dominic Raab has suggested that low-level criminals could be enlisted to deal with the HGV lorry shortage and its gone down about as well as you’d expect.

The justice secretary has piped up as panic buying at petrol station forecourts continues amid concerns that temporary visas for migrant workers and enlisting the actual army won’t prove sufficient in curbing the issues.

“We’ve been getting prisoners and offenders to do volunteering and unpaid work,” Raab told The Spectator, in comments carried by The Times.

“Why not, if there are shortages, encourage them to do paid work where there’s a benefit for the economy, benefit for society?

“If you give people skin in the game, give them something to lose, if you give them some hope, they’re much less likely to re-offend.”

It comes as people continue to stock up on petrol after the supply-chain was affected by a shortfall in drivers – due in part to a backlog of tests that built up during the coronavirus pandemic, as well as those leaving the UK due to Brexit.

Ministers said they expected the situation to improve further, with the first troops driving tankers expected to appear on the roads “in the next couple of days”.

Raab, who has been praised by some for the suggestion, is not the only politician to think out of the box when addressing this problem. Earlier in the summer, Andrew Bridgen blamed the lorry driver shortage on Tony Blair encouraging people to go to university (?!) and John Redwood also over-simplified the crisis to the derision of many.

Politicians say funny things, people post funny memes about those funny things and that – in many ways – is the circle of life. So here’s a taste of that delightful reaction to Raab’s latest comments:




https://www.indy100.com/politics/domini ... e-b1929815

[Volkonski]

[RTH10260]