KFC have today announced on twitter reduced menus nationwide due to shortages in the supply of food. This is undoubtedly the first of many such announcements as the shortage of HGV drivers and the subsequent gap in food and drink deliveries to hospitality businesses grows. Unless demand eases, which it will not during the summer holiday season, food shortages will mount.
Hospitality was forced to endure the impact of Covid without sufficient support from government throughout the pandemic. It has also had to manage a reopening process without hundreds of thousands of non UK national workers sent ‘home’ by the government’s xenophobic Brexit ending of the free movement of people.
Government ignored countless warnings from the UK Road Haulage Association that HGV Driver shortages would severely damage the UK supply chain. Government’s answer was to increase the daily driving hours allowance of HGV drivers from 9 to 10 hours a day, and 11 hours twice a week. The only outcome from that being many safety conscious motorists staying off motorways for the foreseeable.
The shortage of HGV drivers just like hospitality workers is due to government ending free movement of people.
The UK Road Haulage Association has advised government that Brexit has caused a shortfall of circa 100,000 in HGV drivers. Hospitality has a shortfall of circa 180,000 people across a variety of positions.
The numbers of shortages in workers have been constant for months despite government ‘initiatives’ such as their laughable Strategy for Hospitality.
The only solution is for government to ease immigration restrictions on EU nationals and other migrant workers with experience of working in the UK, in the hospitality industry, and other industries including road haulage that are similarly suffering. At least temporarily. This could be achieved by creating a new visa, or exempting non-UK nationals with relevant experience from immigration requirements. This needs to be done immediately, failure to do so guarantees the situation worsening, and the UK economy and industries like hospitality shrinking further.
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Hospitality & Catering News: KFC menu reduced nationwide due to food shortages. – 12 August 2021 – KFC menu reduced nationwide due to food shortages.
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