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The Government is set to announce plans to introduce a shorter HGV test for drivers in a bid to solve the supply chain crisis, it has been reported.
Industry sources have said the Government wants to fast-track tests for new drivers to plug the spiralling vacancies in the haulier industry.
Britain is currently facing a 100,000 shortfall of HGV drivers, which industry bosses have partly blamed on changes to migration rules post-Brexit and EU employees returning home due to the pandemic.
The crisis, which has also been made worse by Covid-related delays to testing new drivers, has seen supermarket shelves across the country go empty as companies struggle to restock their products.
The Government could announce plans to shake-up HGV tests for drivers in a bid to address the supply crisis which has seen supermarkets struggle to stock shelves with certain products
A sign advising products are temporarily out of stock is displayed in a supermarket in London
Brands including Ikea, Coca Cola, McDonalds and Wetherspoons have all been affected by ongoing HGV driver shortages.
Now, according to the BBC, 'the penny has finally dropped' in meetings between the Government, hauliers and suppliers regarding the problem getting worse and plans are underway to address it.
An industry insider told the corporation: 'The government seem to finally understand the scale of the problem. For the first time they looked rattled.'
It is understood the plans will evolve around the combination of tests for Class C rigid lorries and Class E articulated lorries.
The tests are currently taken separately with a two to three week minimum waiting period required between them.
The announcement, which could come as early as Thursday, has been welcomed by the haulage industry but say it does not go far enough to fix the problem.
Paul Jackson of Chiltern Distribution told the BBC: 'This is a sensible move but it's not enough to fix the problem.
'We don't put newly qualified drivers straight behind the wheel on their own. We buddy them up with experienced drivers for the first 8-10 weeks and the insurance costs for new drivers are also much higher.
