Connect with us

Published

on

If the trainee truckers the haulage industry so desperately needs could change direction as fast and frequently as government ministers they would sail through the HGV test.

The latest U-turn, executed to address the supply chain crisis, comes from the Department for Transport, and even by the standards of recent weeks it is a screecher.

To try and increase deliveries the government is to waive rules limiting the number of stops European Union drivers can make while in the UK.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Is the supply crisis global?

The regulations, known as “cabotage”, currently limit international drivers to two deliveries in the UK, including the one they enter the country with, in a seven day period.

That’s one fewer than EU drivers can make while working inside the bloc, but the government’s plan is for them to be allowed to make unlimited stops for 14 days, letting them deliver and drop as they see fit.

It comes after the government granted 5,000 short-term visas for British hauliers to hire EU drivers, a move that so far has attracted only a trickle of candidates.

A further 800 seasonal worker places have been agreed for butchers to clear the backlog of pigs on farms.

More from Business

The intention is to address the chronic driver shortage that is affecting every link in the supply chain, from container ports that can’t clear goods to supermarkets trying to fill shelves.

Some in the logistics industry think the cabotage change may make a marginal difference, but the real impact they say will be to disadvantage British drivers and companies.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Why are there supply shortages in UK?

As well as the removal of cabotage restrictions European drivers also face no export checks on arrival in the UK – the government has delayed them until next year – unlike their British counterparts who face full Brexit red tape heading in the other direction.

Coming just days after the prime minister said business could no longer “pull the lever marked uncontrolled immigration”, and should pay higher wages to British workers, the Road Haulage Association (RHA) says it’s closer to “sabotage than cabotage”.

“It’s allowing foreign hauliers who charge low rates, and the lorry drivers who get very small pay packets, to come in and undercut the work that could be done within the UK by British haulage firms,” said Rod McKenzie of the RHA.

It’s estimated around 4-5% of deliveries were made by cabotage before Brexit, a figure that has decreased as the number of European drivers coming to the UK has dried up.

Follow the Daily podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Spreaker

Shane Brennan of the Cold Chain Federation estimates the issue is not even in the top-ten reasons EU drivers are staying away.

“It’s fine as far as it goes and we need all the help we can get, but it’s not going to make a massive difference,” he says.

“The main reason drivers are staying away isn’t cabotage, it’s because of COVID, because of the working conditions, and because there is easier work to be done on the continent.

“You might be able to make a little bit more money by doing a drop from Doncaster to Leeds before you head home, but you need a load to return with, and those have dried up massively because of export checks at the border.

“Why would you risk being stuck at Calais if you don’t need to?

“At the moment it’s as easy as you like to trade with the UK if you are European, and as easy as you like to come in, as long as you don’t work for a British company.”

Continue Reading

Business

Harrods customers’ details stolen in IT systems breach

Published

on

By

Harrods customers' details stolen in IT systems breach

Harrods has warned its e-commerce customers that their personal data may have been taken in an IT systems breach.

Information like customers’ names and contact details was taken after one of Harrods’ third-party provider systems was compromised, the luxury London department store said.

Affected customers have been informed and reassured that the impacted data is “limited to basic personal identifiers”, a spokesperson said.

Account passwords or payment details were not affected in the breach.

“The third party has confirmed this is an isolated incident which has been contained, and we are working closely with them to ensure that all appropriate actions are being taken. We have notified all relevant authorities,” Harrods added.

“No Harrods system has been compromised and it is important to note that the data was taken from a third-party provider.”

This comes four months after the department store restricted internet access as a precautionary measure due to “attempts to gain unauthorised access” to some of its systems.

More on Cyber Attacks

Friday’s breach is “unconnected” to the attempts in May, the spokesman said.

Two men aged 19, a 17-year-old boy and a 20-year-old woman were arrested in July over their suspected involvement in cyber attacks on Harrods, Marks & Spencer, and the Co-op.

Read more from Sky News:
Jaguar Land Rover shutdown extended after cyber attack
Teenagers charged over TfL cyber attack costing millions

They were arrested on suspicion of blackmail, money laundering, offences linked ot the Computer Misuse Act, and participating in the activities of an organised crime group, the National Crime Agency said.

All four have been bailed pending further inquiries.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Nursery hackers: ‘There’s more to come’

It comes as hackers claim to have stolen pictures, names and addresses of thousands of children in a cyber attack on a nursery chain in London.

The group, calling itself Radiant, has released personal information about children and staff at the Kido nursery chain on the dark web and demanded a ransom from the company.

Radiant told Sky News on Friday it intends to imminently release the profiles of more children and employees.

Continue Reading

Business

Trump trade war expands to cover many drugs, trucks and furniture

Published

on

By

Trump trade war expands to cover many drugs, trucks and furniture

Donald Trump has revealed a fresh round of trade tariffs on several key sectors, with the most punitive rate likely to affect UK businesses.

The US president used his Truth Social account last night to confirm that a new 100% tariff would apply to any branded or patented pharmaceutical product from 1 October.

He said that to escape the clutches of that duty, a company must have already broken ground on a new US factory.

Money latest: Cost of a pint across UK revealed

From the same date, a 50% tariff would be applied to all imported kitchen and bathroom cabinets while upholstered furniture faced a 30% rate.

A 25% tariff faced shipments of heavy trucks.

The president did not confirm whether the duties would be lower for nations to have agreed trade deals with his administration, including the UK and European Union.

More from Money

Each faces a blanket 10% and 15% rate on their exports respectively at the moment.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

What does UK-US trade deal involve?

It is likely, however, that the new duties will be applied in line with other, higher, sectoral tariffs that are currently in place above those agreed rates.

“The reason for this is the large scale “FLOODING” of these products into the United States by other outside Countries,” Trump said in his post.

The lack of detail around the application of the planned new tariff rules means further uncertainty for companies potentially affected.

Shares in pharmaceutical firms listed in Asia fell sharply overnight as industry bodies rushed to seek clarification on the new rules.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Will trade deal with Trump cost UK green jobs?

AstraZeneca – the UK’s most valuable listed company – already has vast US manufacturing and research operations.

In July, as the threat of tariffs loomed large, it revealed plans for a further $50bn investment by 2030.

US figures show the country imported $233bn of drugs and medicines from abroad last year.

A 100% tariff rate, even on some of those shipments, risk ramping up the cost of US healthcare.

By imposing the 100% tariff rate, Mr Trump wants to bring prices down through encouraging domestic production.

US industry groups lined up to oppose the planned measures.

The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America said non-US companies were continuing to announce hundreds of billions of dollars in new US. investments. “Tariffs risk those plans,” it said.

The US Chamber of Commerce urged a U-turn on any truck tariffs.

It said the five nations to be worst affected – Mexico, Canada, Japan, Germany, and Finland – were “allies or close partners of the United States posing no threat to US national security.”.

Continue Reading

Business

Many small firms reliant on Jaguar Land Rover have ‘weeks left’ before damage ‘untenable’

Published

on

By

Many small firms reliant on Jaguar Land Rover have 'weeks left' before damage 'untenable'

Small firms reliant on the production-halted British car maker Jaguar Land Rover, “may have at best a week of cashflow left to support themselves” with “urgent” action needed to support businesses.

Liam Byrne, the head of the influential Business and Trade Committee of MPs, wrote to Chancellor Rachel Reeves with the warning after meeting with the car maker’s suppliers.

“Larger firms, we heard, may begin to seriously struggle within a fortnight – and many are simply unclear how they will pay payroll costs at the end of October,” he said

“In short, many firms have merely “weeks left” before the financial impact on them becomes untenable and causes critical damage to key elements of the automotive supply chain.”

Money latest: HMRC can now take money direct from your account if you don’t pay

Since 31 August, production has been halted across the car-making supply chain, with staff off work as a result of the attack.

More than 33,000 people work directly for JLR in the UK, many of them on assembly lines in the West Midlands, the largest of which is in Solihull, and a plant at Halewood on Merseyside.

More on Cyber Attacks

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Are we in a cyber attack ‘epidemic’?

An estimated 200,000 more are employed by several hundred companies in the supply chain, who have faced business interruption with their largest client out of action.

Calls for government financial support had been growing, but Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday afternoon said, “I haven’t got an outcome here to give to you today”.

A partial restart

It comes as JLR announced some of its IT systems are back online after being hit by a cyber attack late last month though production is still not expected to start again until 1 October at the earliest.

“The foundational work of our recovery programme is firmly underway,” a company spokesperson said in a statement.

As part of the partial restart, supplier payments can begin again.

“We have significantly increased IT processing capacity for invoicing,” the statement said. “We are now working to clear the backlog of payments to our suppliers as quickly as we can.”

The supply of parts to customers across the world can also now recommence.

After a workaround was reached on Tuesday to allow cars to move to buyers without the usual online registration, the financial system to process wholesale vehicles is back online.

“We are able to sell and register vehicles for our clients faster, delivering important cash flow”, the company said.

“Our focus remains on supporting our customers, suppliers, colleagues and our retailers. We fully recognise this is a difficult time for all connected with JLR and we thank everyone for their continued support and patience.”

Continue Reading

Trending