UK faces tough competition with EU for lorry drivers
The UK faces a competitive battle with EU countries to attract more lorry drivers and ease the fuel and food supply crisis, a cabinet minister has admitted.
It comes as the government announced a U-turn on its emergency visa scheme, relenting to pressure from food and fuel industry chiefs by extending its temporary visa schemes beyond Christmas Eve.
The visa scheme for nearly 5,000 foreign food haulage drivers – who can arrive from late October – will now be extended to the end of February in a desperate bid to avoid chaos over the festive period. Some 300 of the haulage drivers will be encouraged to come to Britain immediately and allowed to stay until the end of March.
Health secretary Sajid Javid said he was confident the scheme would encourage more EU drivers to work in the UK. Of...