BRITAIN AND THE FUEL CRISIS…

2nd October, 2021

In UK, the petrol prices are at an 8 year high according to BBC. Most petrol pumps shut down due to fuel deficiency.

So, the question is — Is petrol running out? The answer is-No. Oil companies reported that there is plenty of fuel available. Then, what is the reason?

The key reason behind the issue is that there aren’t enough drivers to supply petrol. There is an estimated shortage of around 1 lakh heavy goods vehicle drivers in UK. A series of events resulted in this shortage of drivers.

After Brexit, many European drivers returned to their home countries, or moved elsewhere, because working in the UK involved additional border bureaucracy which had an impact on their income. The pandemic made sure that even more drivers returned to their home countries, with very few coming back. Meanwhile, some older drivers have retired and there is a huge backlog in heavy goods vehicle driver tests due to Covid. When the country started going back to normalcy, need for fuel increased and the available vehicles are not able to keep up. Long queues started to build up outside stations across Britain amid fears that petrol might run out.

Steps taken by the government to reduce this problem

The Ministry of Defense is preparing about 150 qualified military drivers to deliver fuel and has another 150 personnel ready to support them. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy says it will also draw on some of the reserve fleet of 80 tankers which the government keeps for emergencies.

A suspension of competition law between oil firms were also introduced, which the government said would make it easier for companies to share information about fuel supply and prioritize areas most in need.

An offer of temporary visas to 5,000 foreign fuel tanker drivers in the run-up to Christmas is provided.

The process for getting a heavy goods vehicle driver licence will be sped up, and nearly 1 million letters have been sent to existing heavy goods vehicle drivers to encourage them back into the industry, plus there are plans to train 4,000 others.

Some petrol stations have introduced a 30-pound cap on the amount of petrol people can buy.

It is yet to be seen how deep is the problem in other sectors due to the shortage of drivers.