Military drivers on standby to stabilise fuel supply chain

The UK Government has given approval to put on standby a pool of military drivers to be deployed if necessary to stabilise the fuel supply chain.

The military drivers will now receive specialised training before deploying, enabling them to seamlessly work with industry to address the supply chain pressures.

However, Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has said that the UK has strong supplies of fuel, and this is only a precautionary step. He said: "While the fuel industry expects demand will return to its normal levels in the coming days, it’s right that we take this sensible, precautionary step.

"The UK continues to have strong supplies of fuel, however we are aware of supply chain issues at fuel station forecourts and are taking steps to ease these as a matter of priority.

"If required, the deployment of military personnel will provide the supply chain with additional capacity as a temporary measure to help ease pressures caused by spikes in localised demand for fuel."

What's more, the Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has authorised an extension to ADR driver licences, which allow drivers to transport goods, such as fuel.

The measure will apply to licences expiring between 27 September 2021 and 31 December 2021, and extend their validity until 31 January 2022. This will provide immediate relief to the shortage of fuel drivers by permitting affected drivers to maximise their available capacity instead of being taken out of circulation for refresher training purposes.

Over the weekend the Businesses Secretary took the decision to enact the Downstream Oil Protocol to relax competition rules to make it easier for industry to share information. This will help the sector to prioritise the delivery of fuel to the parts of the country and strategic locations that are most in need.