UK Immigration alert – HGV drivers consultation

 

The UK government has recently introduced temporary routes to ease the HGV driver shortage in respect of the transport of food and fuel. A link to our recent e-briefing on these routes which includes key takeaways and links to the schemes can be accessed here: UK Immigration alert HGV drivers- Publications - Eversheds Sutherland (eversheds-sutherland.com). Since the article was produced a further temporary route for butchers has been introduced, initial details on the package of measures to support the pig industry can be found here: Package measures to support the pig industry.

The temporary routes are specific to fuel and food transport, leaving other sectors (such as retail) somewhat in the dark. However, the government has announced a consultation on “cabotage” arrangements. Cabotage is the transport of goods between two places in the same country by a transport operator from another country for the purposes of hire and reward.

The proposals subject to the consultation would allow for unlimited cabotage movements of HGVs for up to 14 days after arriving on a laden international journey into the UK. Essentially allowing drivers who have come into the UK to deliver goods, to make further deliveries within the UK for up to 14 days. At the moment, only two cabotage journeys within 7 days of entry to the UK can be undertaken (applicable to EU operators only) (and provided certain conditions are met). See: Visitor rules and EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (europa.eu)

If the proposals go ahead, the extension will apply for 3 or 6 months (subject to ongoing review) to support the resilience of supply chains within the UK and would not be sector-specific. However, as with the other temporary routes announced, these are time limited proposals which do not address the underlying shortages.

The consultation only runs for one week from 14 October to 21 October.

If you want to respond to the consultation, you can find further details here: Temporary extension to road haulage cabotage consultation - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

If you would like to discuss this further, or require help in submitting a response, please contact us and we will put you in touch with one of our immigration experts.