Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to change immigration rules to allow more HGV drivers to be recruited from overseas.

In response to the current exceptional circumstances facing businesses at this time, we have made available 5,000 visas for HGV drivers to enter the UK on a short-term basis to support the fuel and food supply sector. In line with other routes, eligibility for the visa is not based on whether an applicant is an EU national.

This is a temporary measure leading into Christmas to mitigate some of the acute issues experienced at this particular time and until the range of other measures, including ramping up testing capacity and the creation of new Skills Bootcamps for HGV drivers, bite.