Petrol will continue to flow, says transport secretary

0
55

People should carry on buying petrol as normal, despite supply problems that have closed some stations, the government has said.

A “handful” of BP stations, and a small number of Esso-owned Tesco Alliance stations, were closed on Thursday because of a lack of delivery drivers.

But Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said refineries had “plenty of petrol”.

He told the BBC that the government could bring in the army to drive fuel tankers if it would help.

It is estimated that the UK is short of about 100,000 HGV drivers – with gaps made worse by the pandemic and Brexit.

Other industries such as food processing have been impacted. Britain’s biggest baker Warburtons has confirmed that the company is facing challenges recruiting lorry drivers and that the shortage is causing some disruption to its supply chain.

The baker delivers to around 18,500 stores and says it can’t deliver to a number of them.

“The national driver shortage continues to place a strain on the Warburtons distribution network but we are working incredibly hard to maintain a good level of service for our customers nationwide.”

Reports in several newspapers have suggested that the government is considering getting soldiers to drive fuel tankers under emergency plans.

When questioned about this on BBC Breakfast, Mr Shapps said: “If it can actually help, we will bring them in.”

However, he said there would be “technicalities” as to whether military personnel could switch to driving civilian vehicles.

The AA said that most of the UK’s forecourts were working as they should.

“There is no shortage of fuel and thousands of forecourts are operating normally with just a few suffering temporary supply chain problems,” said AA president Edmund King.

“Fridays and the weekend always tend to be busier on forecourts, as drivers either combine filling up with shopping runs, prepare for weekend trips or refuel for the start of the new working week.”

Mr King said drivers should not fill up outside their normal routines, because even if the occasional petrol station was temporarily closed, others just down the road would be open.

“It is now clear that there have been occasional delays over recent weeks that have been managed with hardly anyone noticing. This was a manageable problem.”

There are about 8,380 petrol stations in the UK, according to the Petrol Retailers Association. Of these, about 1% are believed to be closed at the moment.

It is understood that about 50 to 100 BP forecourts are affected by shortages, while Esso said “a small number” of its Tesco Alliance retail sites had been hit.

Helena Wright, transport manager for Norfolk-based firm W’s Transport, told the BBC her company had sold two lorries after advertising for HGV drivers and not getting a single applicant.

“Normally we would have people on record to call who had left their details,” she said. “This is the first time for our firm that that’s happened, but it’s a problem that has been a long time coming.

“I’ve got a lot of drivers that are over the age of 50, 55 and looking to retire and we are not attractive as an industry for the younger generation.”

She said younger people were not prepared to spend four to five nights a week away from home and were not ready to put up with “inhumane” conditions.