Is Brexit causing the Shortages? > North Herts for Europe

Customers and businesses are seeing shortages of many products and the situation is getting worse.

Ian Wright, CEO of the Food & Drink Federation, said the system that for decades had meant British consumers could expect a full range of food or drink items in their supermarkets and restaurants was “over” and probably not coming back.
PoliticsHome – 10 September 2021

The biggest problem? Brexit causing the Shortages

The Government refuses to add these skills to the list of Shortage occupations as that would mean admitting that Brexit isn’t working. Their answer is that industries should train British people, rather than bringing in immigrants. Yes, there are lorry driver shortages in other countries, but it’s having a far greater impact in this country.

The Government’s previous attempts to resolve the lorry driver shortage

Increase working hours – Which will make the roads more dangerous!

Bring in the Army – This one was quietly dropped when it was realised to be impractical.

Training takes time!

Training a lorry driver can take 18 months, with a pass-rate of 56%!

The Government has not prepared for the impact of Brexit, by increasing the amount of necessary training since the referendum. Their latest answer is to let those training to drive articulated lorries skip the rigid lorry exam. The Road Haulage Association says the speeding-up of training will make a negligible difference, given that the “industry was losing 600 drivers a week“.

Seasonal work

Some work is seasonal and location-dependent, neither of which matches the needs of the British.

Many of these shortages have a Backstory, but have been exacerbated by the rapid departure of EU citizens

The CBI said the list of “shortage occupations” which determines whether overseas workers are granted work visas should be widened to include HGV drivers and other areas where its members had identified shortages, including welders, butchers and bricklayers. The CBI said members also cited shortages of fruit and flower pickers, food and meat processing operatives, livestock and arable workers, factory assembly workers, scaffolders, carpenters, chefs, cleaners and housekeepers.
BBC – 6 September 2021

The Shortages being publicised

UK labour Shortages 2021- There’s a growing list!

Waitrose unable to fill refrigerators

This is Waitrose Bishops Stortford

Impact of the pandemic

Many Hospitality staff have quit the industry, not just in the UK, as they realised during the pandemic that they could get better conditions in other sectors. Again it’s the departure of large numbers of EU citizens which has heavily impacted the UK.