Sat 02 October 2021:
According to the government, armed forces personnel will begin distributing petrol to garages around the UK on Monday.
Almost 200 service members, including 100 drivers, will provide “temporary” assistance to relieve station pressure.
Up to 300 foreign petrol tanker drivers will be authorized to operate in the UK immediately until the end of March, according to ministers.
Fuel delivery were hampered this week due to a driver shortage, which resulted in long lines at gas stations.
In addition, the government will allow 4,700 food haulage drivers from late October to the end of February to help with logistical problems in food deliveries.
“Hauilers will find licensed drivers to recruit and will submit applications to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy which will endorse applicants with the necessary license and a contract to work as a fuel driver,” it said.
Military personnel are currently training at haulier sites and will be on the road delivering fuel supplies across the country to “help fuel stocks further improve” from Monday, the government said.
Also, 5,500 poultry workers will arrive in October and will be able to stay until Dec. 31.
The UK has suffered from a lack of HGV drivers, as the shortage hits approximately 100,000 due to the coronavirus pandemic and Brexit circumstances.
Brian Madderson, chairman of the Petrol Retailers Association, which represents nearly 5,500 of the UK’s 8,300 petrol stations said Scotland, the north of England and parts of the Midlands had seen a “distinct improvement” with fewer dry sites.
But he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme it remained a “big problem” in London and south-east England, where “if anything it had got worse.”
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