Calls for key workers to be prioritised for fuel – but who should be front of the queue?

Published

3 years ago

September 27, 2021

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The government is facing calls to prioritise essential workers as some petrol supplies run dry amid impacts of a shortage of lorry drivers.

Long queues were reported overnight and some petrol brands are seeing as many as 90% of their sites running dry, according to the Petrol Retailers Association.

Union Unison said that key workers should not be left stranded or forced to queue for hours for fuel, and called on the government to “designate fuel stations for the sole use of key workers”.

“Essential staff must be able to get to their jobs so they can continue to provide the services so many rely upon”, said the union’s general secretary Christina McAnea.

“Ambulance crews, nurses, care workers, teaching assistants, police staff and other key workers mustn’t be left stranded or forced to queue for hours simply to get to a pump.

“The Government could solve this problem now by using emergency powers to designate fuel stations for the sole use of key workers.”

But what difficulties are essential workers experiencing?

Healthcare workers

Healthcare and essential workers should be given priority access to fuel, the British Medical Association has said.

Dr Chaand Nagpaul, BMA council chair, said healthcare workers should be prioritised to guarantee care to patients. He said “there is a real risk that NHS staff won’t be able to do their jobs”.

“While the government has said it is putting plans in place to alleviate the shortage of HGV drivers to transport fuel, the results of this won’t be immediate,” Dr Nagpaul added.

“Healthcare and essential workers must therefore be given priority access to fuel so they can continue their crucial work and guarantee care to patients.”

Earlier, a campaign group called EveryDoctor, which has 1,700 members, had reported that some healthcare workers were unable to get to work and said the government should clarify its plan “to ensure that all NHS staff can reach their workplaces safely during this fuel crisis”.

Get in touch: If you’re struggling to get fuel we want to hear from you. Send us a photo of queues or closed petrol stations if you can do so legally and safely, along with details of how it’s affecting you, your name and location. Email news@skynews.com with the subject line ‘blog’.

Homecare workers

The Homecare Association is calling for urgent prioritisation of homecare and other essential workers on garage forecourts.

Jane Townson, chief executive of the Homecare Association, said: “There is only patchy prioritisation of essential workers.

“In previous fuel strikes, local authorities have been able to arrange for scarce fuel to be prioritised for essential users.

“There is a question whether this needs authority from central government, under civil contingencies legislation, to address the current problem. We call for this issue to be resolved urgently, as homecare workers need a fast solution so they can get to people who rely on their vital help.”

“The lack of communication from government is not helping.”

What about other workers?

Meat industry

The petrol pumps crisis has presented another problem for the beleaguered meat industry as key staff, such as meat inspectors and vets, are starting to have trouble getting to different sites.

It’s another headache for the sector which has already been hit by a shortage of CO2 – used for stunning animals before slaughter and vacuum packing – and an exodus of foreign workers at abattoirs.

The British Meat Processors Association said the latest problem had so far not caused any plants to shut completely but it was “monitoring the unfolding situation very carefully”.

A spokesperson for the group said: “Apart from the obvious logistics problems with getting deliveries of product between plants and into supermarkets, which many manufacturers are facing, the meat industry has additional but less obvious vulnerabilities to the fuel shortage.

“There are a number of critical workers whose presence is relied on to keep meat factories running. Meat inspectors are the people who physically stamp every carcass to denote that it is fit for human consumption so it can enter the food chain. Vets must be present to inspect operations from an animal welfare perspective and also sign off critical documentation to certify standards are being met.

“The people who perform these roles often work across multiple meat plants over a wide geographic area. If either of these roles are absent due to their inability to get petrol and travel to the sites, production instantly slows down in direct proportion to the time they’re not able to work.

“We have heard reports from a couple of companies already that they’re missing some of these key workers. So far it has not caused any plants to completely shut but we are monitoring the unfolding situation very carefully.”

Teachers

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, said: “The last thing we need is further disruption to education given the experience of the last 18 months.

“Schools are still grappling with the ongoing challenges caused by COVID-19, and so we hope any further disruption caused by petrol supply problems can be avoided.”

Pharmacies

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society said that pharmacies are still getting deliveries of medicines and told people to collect their prescriptions as normal.

Professor Claire Anderson, president of the society, said: “As normal, pharmacists are working with patients to ensure they get the medicines they need. We’re not aware that the problems with fuel supplies are stopping patients getting their medicines.

“If you have any concerns then please speak to your local pharmacist and their team, who will be able to help and reassure you.”

Taxis and cars

Travelhire Group, which runs Brunel and Green Tomato cars, warned of “a sizeable portion of delays to bookings” in the coming days and warned customers to allocate time for delays.

The organisation said: “In order to control fuel consumption and minimise the risk of vehicles becoming stranded, there are some long-distance bookings which we will not be able to honour. We will contact customers individually about any such bookings.

“We are encouraging customers to share bookings where practical (up to 3 passengers in one car). Where people carriers are booked, there may be times we need to send two cars instead.”

Edmund King, AA president, said: “Millions of drivers changed their refuelling habits this weekend, but once a tank is full it can’t be topped up. This short-term increase in demand should slow and allow forecourts time to restock. We anticipate things will return to normal within the coming days.

“Drivers also need to be careful because this weekend we have seen a dramatic rise in misfuelling (putting in the wrong fuel) compared to last weekend. This in turn unnecessarily reduces the fuel available as the whole tank has to be drained before refilling with the correct fuel.”

UK

Landlords ‘holding parliament hostage’ over threat of selling up – as peers urged to ‘rescue’ Renters Reform Bill

Published

2 hours ago

May 15, 2024

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Landlords 'holding parliament hostage' over threat of selling up - as peers urged to 'rescue' Renters Reform Bill

Landlords have been accused of “holding parliament hostage” with the threat of selling up to stop tenants’ rights from being strengthened.

A fresh row erupted on the eve of the controversial Renters Reform Bill coming to the House of Lords for its second reading, as one landlord group warned of a supply crisis in the private sector.

Analysis of government data by the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) found that in the last six months of 2023, 45% of people in need of homeless prevention support said the reason was because the property owner planned to sell.

This was more than twice as much as the next most common reason, which was landlords planning to re-let the property.

Separately, data from Rightmove found that 50,000 rental properties are needed to bring the supply of rental homes back to pre-pandemic levels.

The NRLA said landlords need “confidence to stay in the market” and warned peers against attempting to strengthen the reform bill to give renters more rights, after it was watered down by MPs in the Commons.

They said the data comes in the wake of concerns being raised by campaign group Generation Rent, who have warned that landlords selling up is a leading cause of homelessness.

But Generation Rent accused the NRLA of “cynically” using their concerns “to hold parliament hostage to the idea that they will sell up over even the smallest strengthening of tenants’ rights”.

Ben Twomey, Chief Executive of Generation Rent, said: “Long term, if landlords sell up it makes little difference to the housing market.

“Bricks and mortar do not sink into the ground, and the home could be bought by another landlord, a first-time buyer or even repurposed for social housing.

“There will always be some landlords wanting to sell, for example because they are retiring or because their mortgages have become too costly.”

‘Relocation relief required for renters’

Mr Twomey said the short-term issue is that “tenants have an appalling lack of protection when landlords choose to sell up”.

He called on ministers to incentivise homes being sold to existing tenants if they can afford to buy, or incentivise selling homes with sitting tenants so they can stay in the property if it changes ownership to a new landlord.

The campaign group also want landlords to be prevented from selling a property for two years after a tenancy has begun, and a relocation relief for renters evicted through no fault of their own so they don’t need to pay for the final two months rent while they look for a new home.

Why are landlords selling up?

The NRLA said there are various reasons for landlords selling up but the key issues are growing costs and uncertainty over the Renters Reform bill.

The legislation, intended to redress the power balance between renters and landlords, has been mired in delay and controversy with the government heavily criticised for diluting some of its flagship proposals, including the ban on no-fault evictions.

First promised by the Tories five years ago, the ban has been delayed indefinitely pending court reforms, in what has widely been seen as a concession to landlords.

Peers urged to ‘rescue’ reform bill

The Renters Reform Coalition, which includes Generation Rent, has called on peers to “rescue this watered down bill”, saying it is a failure in its current form and “will preserve the central power imbalance at the root of why renting in England is in crisis”.

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The RCC want a package of reforms including the end of no-fault evictions, four months’ notice when they are evicted rather than two and limiting in-tenancy rent increases in line with inflation or wage growth.

As well as insecure tenancies, renters are facing soaring rents and poor conditions amid a wider housing crisis which at its heart is a problem of insufficient supply and spiralling affordability

Ben Beadle, Chief Executive of the National Residential Landlords Association, acknowledged the wider problems and said that “all parties need to accept widespread calls for policies to boost supply in the private rented sector”.

He added: “Landlords selling up is the single biggest challenge renters face. The only answer is to ensure responsible landlords have the confidence to stay in the market and sustain tenancies.

“As peers debate the Renters (Reform) Bill, it is vital that it works for landlords as well as tenants. As it stands it would achieve this balance. We are calling on peers to support the Bill to give the sector certainty about the future.”

UK

Teens buying knives illegally online as criminals ‘move with digital age’

Published

2 hours ago

May 15, 2024

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Teens buying knives illegally online as criminals 'move with digital age'

Underage teenagers buying knives online remains “a really concerning picture” for police, with illegal dealers selling weapons via social media.

The national lead for policing knife crime, Commander Stephen Clayman, said forces in England and Wales are keen to cut off the supply of weapons as part of efforts to stop injuries and deaths.

He said knives are being sold on TikTok, Snapchat and sites run by Facebook and Instagram owner Meta, while the Home Office revealed plans for knife detection technology and harsher punishments.

He told Sky News knife crime is “moving with the digital age” and said he is looking to retailers to take care over age verification.

Social media sites could also help by limiting harmful content, he added, and he is confident following talks with firms around ways technology can limit what teens are exposed to online.

“Knife crime is not the preserve solely of young people, but clearly we see, where young people are concerned, more proliferation, more public space violence, more use of these large intimidating weapons,” he said.

Some young people involved in criminality particularly favour what he calls “status knives”, more than a regular kitchen knife.

“It’s still a really concerning picture in terms of the accessibility of knives online,” he told journalists.

Official figures show knife crime rose by 7% in the year to December 2023.

In the year to March 2023, 82% of teenage homicide victims were killed with a knife, compared to 73% in the previous year.

As part of plans to combat the rise, all police forces in England and Wales will ramp up action for a week this month and again in November as part of Operation Sceptre.

The Home Office announced on Tuesday a £3.5m package for research and development of new technologies to detect knives from a distance when a suspect passes through two points.

An additional £547,863 will also be given to the Metropolitan Police to fund four more live facial recognition camera vans.

Laws around zombie knives, machetes and swords will be tightened up from September, giving police greater powers to seize weapons found in private properties.

It will be illegal to possess, sell, manufacture or transport zombie-style knives and machetes.

The maximum penalty for the possession of these and other banned weapons will also increase from six months to two years.

A surrender and compensation scheme is due to launch this summer.

UK

Record 3.1 million food bank parcels handed out in a year, says charity

Published

2 hours ago

May 15, 2024

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Record 3.1 million food bank parcels handed out in a year, says charity

A record 3.1 million emergency food parcels have been handed out in just a year, according to a charity.

The Trussell Trust says 3,121,404 were distributed by its network of 1,300 food banks in the year to the end of March.

Some 1,144,096 were for children and nearly two million for adults. The total is nearly double that of five years ago.

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The number of parcels given out during the 12 months to March 2023 was just under three million.

While the number of first-time users this year – 655,000 – is a slight drop, it’s still a rise of 40% compared with five years ago.

And the number of parcels given to someone of state pension age also increased by 27% to 179,000, according to the trust.

A foodbank in Leeds is among those seeing more demand from older people.

“Our volunteers are telling us that they are dealing with pensioners who can’t afford to put food on the table due to having to pay higher energy costs,” said Wendy Doyle, operations manager at Leeds South and East Foodbank.

Val McKie, who previously used food banks after she was left “couch-surfing and destitute” when her husband died and work dried up, said the rising need for food support is a “stain on our society”.

“I was overwhelmed with shame at the situation I was in,” said Ms McKie.

“I struggled for years before I found the courage and strength to ask for help, these feelings are shared by so many people who need the support of food banks.”

The Trussell Trust wants politicians to back a “supportive social security system” for parents, carers and people with disabilities who face increased living costs.

Emma Revie, the trust’s chief executive, said the UK was facing “historically high levels of food bank need”.

“As a society, we cannot allow this to continue. We must not let food banks become the new norm,” she said.

“As we approach the next UK general election, we urgently need all political leaders to set out how they will build a future where no one needs a food bank to survive.”

Social change group the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) repeated calls for a protected minimum amount of financial support so people can afford the essentials.

Iain Porter, JRF senior policy adviser, said: “This is not what an economy returning to full health looks like.

“The latest record-breaking emergency food parcel figures show the painful economic reality facing families with the least.”

He said the issue was one that “no political party can ignore in this election year”.

Alison McGovern, Labour’s acting shadow work and pensions secretary, said the “dreadful” figures “lay bare the reality facing households across the country after 14 years of Tory misery”.

She said Labour would tackle the “root causes of poverty” – for example building more affordable housing and protecting renters, cutting school uniform costs and providing breakfast clubs in every primary school.

The government said its cost-of-living support package had prevented 1.3 million people falling into poverty in 2022-23.

It said it was also “raising the National Living Wage, cutting taxes and driving down inflation while investing billions through our Back to Work Plan”.