Food industry at crisis point and shortages possible because of pingdemic

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Fears were fuelled that the ‘Pingdemic’ is strangling the UK’s recovery today as ministers scramble to exempt 10,000 critical workers and avert food shortages – but refused to confirm that the wider August 16 easing of self-isolation will go ahead.

Closely-watched PMI figures suggested the economy has drastically slowed down this month – with managers blaming absence of workers and shortages of raw materials. Although the index indicated growth continuing, the reading was the lowest since the lockdown started easing in March.  

The alarming finding came as the government faced a huge backlash after unveiling get-outs from the self-isolation rules designed to stop essential supply chains collapsing.

Environment Secretary George Eustice said staff at around 500 sites including supermarket depots will no longer need to quarantine if they come into contact with a positive Covid case.

He stressed that firms will not need to apply to be covered by the ‘big exemption’, amid confusion over the emergency measures being taken by ministers to stop supply chains collapsing. The change will take effect for the first 15 locations today. 

Admitting that the government needed to think again after businesses raised the alarm over the sheer scale of absences, he said: ‘We will never take risks with our food supply.’ The Cabinet minister said the military was ‘always on standby’, but there were currently no plans to call on them.  

However, supermarket store staff will not benefit, and Mr Eustice incurred the wrath of other sectors that are being hammered as he made clear there is no prospect of hospitality staff getting the same treatment. He declined to give a categorical commitment that fully-vaccinated people will be let off isolation rules from August 16 as planned.   

Meanwhile, industry groups complained that the exemption scheme showed ministers did not ‘understand how connected the food supply chain is’ and were ‘worse than useless’ because there is no clarity about who will be covered. Councils said services were at risk from the wave of self-isolation and train timetables are also being cut back.  

The row came as owners of some of the country’s largest producers including the UK’s ‘Chicken King’ revealed they are at ‘crisis point’ – with a lack of poultry and milk on supermarket shelves and warnings of the ‘most serious food shortages that this country has seen in over 75 years’.

Ranjit Singh Boparan, of the 2 Sisters Food Group, said the pingdemic was also ‘masking’ other issues, including Brexit-related problems and Covid-related supply, staffing and delivery woes as the Government exempted 10,000 critical workers from self-isolation if pinged. 

Supermarkets have urged customers not to panic buy as a wide-range of products including meat, cheese, water and wine were missing from stores experiencing an epidemic of empty shelves. 

In other developments today:

• Daily testing of pupils who have been in contact with someone with Covid-19, rather than isolating whole groups, may be just as effective in controlling transmission in secondary schools, a study has suggested; 
• Nearly 750,000 people in England were infected with Covid last week in the highest number since the second wave was still raging in January, official figures show — but the R rate has remained stable; 
• Covid was only the 26th leading cause of death in England in June with just 0.9 per cent of fatalities linked to the disease, official data revealed today; 
• France could soon be dropped from the ‘amber-plus’ travel quarantine list because of falling rates of the Beta variant across the Channel, Mr Eustice hinted; 
• Key workers in critical roles in Scotland will be able to avoid self-isolation after close contact with coronavirus if they are fully vaccinated and are tested daily, Nicola Sturgeon announced today. 

The closely-followed IHS Markit/CIPS composite output index, which measures different parts of the economy, hit 57.7, down from 62.2 in June to levels not seen since before lockdown restrictions started to ease. Anything above 50 is seen as a sign of growth.

Concerns about the loss of momentum also led to the lowest degree of optimism towards the business outlook for nine months, with companies struggling to manage large parts of the workforce off due to being told to self-isolate.

Some also reported that workers had taken unused holiday accumulated during recent lockdowns.

Around 32 per cent of those surveyed said they had seen a rise in business activity during July, compared to 16 per cet that signalled a decline, with looser restrictions, a boost in consumer spending due to greater numbers of ‘staycations’ and a strong order book in the manufacturing sector.

The pace of the rise in levels of new work was the slowest in the current five-month period of expansion, with some firms citing a drop in business and consumer confidence due to the pandemic situation, while others continued to report Brexit-related difficulties with export sales.

Manufacturers in particular said rising raw material costs, Brexit border checks and increased delays in global shipping was playing a part in the slowdown.

The UK services business activity index hit 57.8 – a four-month low and down from 62.4 last month; the Flash UK manufacturing output index in the first half of July also hit a four-month low at 57.1 – down from 61.1 in June; and the Flash UK manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI) hit a four-month low of 60.4, compared with 63.9 last month.

While current staff absences continue to cause problems, there were also issues with recruitment, with employment growth reducing to its slowest rate since March.

Large number of staff departures and a lack of candidates to fill roles was highlighted by the survey.

Inflationary pressures are also growing, with wage inflation, higher transport bills and price hikes by suppliers all impacting the economy.

Mr Boparan – known as the Chicken King because of 2 Sisters’ large scale involvement in the poultry trade – warned the Government needed to act now or face disaster.

He said: ‘No-one could possibly have predicted that this toxic cocktail would come together at this time. It started with the pandemic – and in the last week or so with pingdemic, but since May this year the operating environment has deteriorated so profoundly I can see no other outcome than major food shortages in the UK.

‘Supply of chicken and turkey is under threat. Our retail partners and the wider supply chain have worked together closer than ever before to ensure we retain food supply and this is of huge credit to everyone. But we are at crisis point.’ 

Mr Boparan, who featured on the Sunday Times Rich List in 2020 along with wife Baljinder with a fortune of £593million, added labour was a concern, reporting 15 per cent shortages among its 16,000-strong workforce with Brexit reducing available staff in the sector.

He said: ‘The critical labour issue alone means we walk a tightrope every week at the moment.

‘We’re just about coping, but I can see if no support is forthcoming – and urgently – from Government, then shelves will be empty, food waste will rocket simply because it cannot be processed, or delivered, and the shortages we saw last year will be peanuts in comparison to what could come.’

There was a limited welcome for the announcement of exemptions from isolation requirements for food supply chain workers. 

Ian Wright, chief executive of the Food and Drink Federation, told Times Radio: ‘I think it’s important because the interruptions in supply and the increasing erosion of choice and concerns that it might get worse were beginning to grow quite fast.

‘I must confess I’m still a little bit mystified as to why the Government doesn’t want to bring [the end of the self-isolation requirement on August 16] forward and I think it would be useful to know on exactly which grounds the hiatus is justified.’

But other industry groups warned the move does not go far enough. British Frozen Food Federation chief Richard Harrow said: ‘The government announcement last night that parts of the supply chain will be allowed to test and release workers that are pinged by track and trace only goes part of the way. It shows that yet again government does not understand how connected the food supply chain is, only opening part is unlikely to solve the overall issue.

‘Plus, who is in and who is out, who decides and how do they decide? Confusion continues to pervade and I have been advised no list until Monday. This is worse than useless.’

James Jamieson, Chairman of the Local Government Association, warned council services could be at risk if the rules are not eased.

‘Councils continue to work hard to try and keep services running as best as possible, while protecting the health and wellbeing of our workforce. However, the large numbers of close contacts being required to self-isolate is having an impact on some council services due to staff shortages,’ he said.

‘Directors of public health, working in councils, are already under huge pressure as a result of the need to sign off on self-isolation exemptions for social care staff as well as many daily enquiries from other employers in their local area who believe their staff should be exempt. Clarity is urgently needed about what their role will be with regards to the application of exemptions locally while messaging from government must be crystal clear to avoid raising unrealistic expectations. The exemption approval process must also be quick and clear to understand.

‘While we continue to discuss with government the implications of this guidance for local government, it appears it will not help alleviate the pressure on some important – albeit non-critical – local services. Residents will need to bear with us if they experience disruption to some services, if councils are forced to prioritise services that protect the most vulnerable in their communities.’

The TUC said if workers are being told not to self-isolate, they need to know that their workplaces are Covid-secure.

General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: ‘The Government has got into this mess by failing to consult unions and employers in advance of reopening the economy.

‘Ministers must replace the current inadequate back-to-work guidance with legally binding rules on face coverings and enforce the law on workplace safety properly.

‘And they must bring back free workplace testing and ensure there is decent sick pay for all.

‘Many staff working in sectors like hospitality don’t earn enough to quality for even statutory sick pay. It beggars belief that ministers are refusing to fix this.

‘The Government needs to be clear about who it classes as critical workers. The current proposals don’t reflect the real world because businesses don’t exist in isolation – they are part of complex supply chains.’ 

As Tory objections increased in volume, former business secretary Greg Clark said the Government should consider bringing forward quarantine exemptions for people who, after being identified as a close contact of a positive coronavirus case, test negative for the virus.

The chairman of the Commons Science and Technology Committee, asked what he made of the Government’s critical worker self-isolation exemption list, told BBC Radio 4’s World At One: ‘It is certainly an improvement but it seems to me that we have the opportunity to go further.

‘My committee took evidence months ago now from Sir John Bell, the very distinguished regius professor at Oxford, who said that what should happen is, of course people testing positive for Covid need to isolate, but contacts should be able to take a test and isolate if positive, but go about their business if negative.

‘That would avoid much of the disruption that we have and, actually, and Sir John made this point, would cause people to be more compliant with the advice.

‘Many people think that 10 days isolation is pretty onerous and some of them will not comply with it.

‘We know that on August 16 a new system will come in, in which you can take a test if you’re named as a contact and only isolate if you’re positive – I don’t see why we can’t begin that now on July 23 rather than wait.’

In a round of interviews today, Mr Eustice told Sky News: ‘We’ve identified close to 500 key sites, that includes around 170 supermarket depots, and then another couple of hundred key manufacturers like our bread manufacturers, dairy companies and so on.

‘All of the people working in those key strategic sites, distribution depots and those manufacturing facilities will be able to use this scheme, and probably well over 10,000 people.’ 

Mr Eustice said it was easier to manage staff shortages on a store level when asked why supermarket staff were not included in exemptions.

He told BBC Breakfast: ‘Well, the main reason is that would be a really significant undertaking, as you’re talking then thousands of different shops, and many more people, and we still want to maintain the test, trace and isolate system.

‘We know that the most important thing is to ensure that those main arteries in our food supply chain keep working, that the lorries keep going from depots to get goods to store and that the food manufacturers can continue to manufacture the goods to get it to the depots.

‘When you get to store level, of course, yes, there will be some difficulties, they will have staff shortages. But it is easier to manage at that level.’

Asked why the Government had not acted earlier, he said: ‘It wasn’t clear, to be honest, at the end of last week where things would peak and level off in terms of people being asked to isolate.

‘There’s an element of uncertainty here and, at the end of last week, what supermarkets were reporting is that although there were certainly pressures and delivery time, for instance, was slipping, and there was a … starting to get a lower fulfilment of deliveries, at that point we judged it was still manageable.’

Companies and organisations representing thousands of businesses employing millions are demanding an end to the quarantine of the healthy. They speak for hospitality, retail, food supplies, manufacturing and transport – the foundations of the economy. 

The Government has announced 16 sectors from transport to police and food suppliers where double-vaccinated key staff will not have to isolate if pinged. 

Updated guidance said ‘in the small number of situations where the self-isolation of close contacts would result in serious disruption to critical services, a limited number of named workers may be able to leave self-isolation under specific controls for the purpose of undertaking critical work only’.

The policy only applies to named workers if their employer has received a letter from the relevant government department. 

‘This is not a blanket exemption for all workers in a sector,’ the guidance said.

The 10,000 workers exempted in the food supply chain compares to 2.3million people, including children sent home from school, who were told to isolate last week and the 1.3million self-isolation alerts sent out across England over the seven-day period.

Ministers have also announced that priority testing sites will be set up at workplaces that supply food – 500 of which are set to be operational within the next week. 

The new process to allow critical workers to carry on with their jobs even if identified as a contact of a coronavirus case is intended to run until August 16, when a wider relaxation for fully vaccinated contacts is set to take effect. 

The Government, however, tonight faced mounting calls to immediately end quarantine for everyone who has had both doses of the vaccine. 

It comes as a study from Oxford University suggests daily testing of Covid contacts in schools drastically reduces staff and pupil absences without increasing infections. 

The policy proved just as effective at preventing outbreaks as sending home an entire ‘bubble’ for ten days when someone tested positive. Fewer than one close contact in 50 was infected under either regime, researchers say.

As anxiety runs high among businesses, Phil Langslow, trading director at Cheshire-based county milk products said: ‘We had a long standing lorry driver shortage that’s been exacerbated by covid. Service providers have said they cannot cope. 

‘Roughly half of deliveries expected to be done are not and we’re scrambling to get this done. It renders some business unviable. We were already struggling on the back of Brexit. It meant a lot of farmers kept within the confines of the UK. 

‘There’s nothing more important than food. The centre of government policy should be the provision of safe affordable food. We’ve taken a fairly strict view that if you don’t feel well don’t come to work. What has been affected is distribution. If you cannot get food to the market you’ve got a problem.’  

Pub industry sources told MailOnline today that many UK pubs are now having to shut due to there not being enough staff available to open them due to the ‘pingdemic’ – and the number of closures appears to be increasing.

It is estimated that one in five UK hospitality workers – equating to 380,000 of the UK’s 1.9million workforce in the industry – are currently isolating. This figure is expected to hit 670,000 – one in three – later this summer.

The nation’s largest pub company, Stonegate, said 1,000 staff are off and 15 sites are closed, while Mitchells & Butlers has closed 40 properties temporarily. Greene King has shut 33 and Young’s reported 350 staff were isolating last week.

Kent Barker, restaurateur at Eight Stony Street in Frome, Somerset and Wilding, told City AM this week: ‘We are experiencing unprecedented levels of absenteeism, firstly due to the ‘pingdemic’, secondly to people who are using it as an excuse due to the amazing weather, and thirdly due to the already well documented staff shortages due to Brexit.

‘This is putting the whole system under huge strain – it feels like it’s only a matter of time before we are going to have to shut certain days, to keep enough staff available for busy shifts that are understaffed due to aforementioned shortages.’

And chef Paul Askew, who owns The Art School Restaurant in Liverpool, told ITV’s Good Morning Britain today: ‘We’ve spent thousands of pounds making our venues Covid-safe.

‘We risk assess, we’re a registered testing centre. We test our staff every morning with a lateral flow test. I don’t know what else we can do.’

Under the pingdemic plan, employers struggling because of the number of staff off work will be able to apply for an exemption so their teams can undergo daily tests instead of having to stay at home if they are pinged.

A record 1.3million Covid self-isolation alerts were sent out across England last week, according to official NHS statistics, with supermarkets urging Britons not to panic buy toilet roll, pasta, bottled water and wine with shelves empty across the country and ministers facing calls to bring in the Army to shore up the supply of food. 

Officials will ‘agree the roles and workplaces that are likely to meet the criteria’ for the self-isolation exemption ‘on a daily basis’.

‘Where a specific case meets the criteria, the employer will receive a letter from the relevant department setting out the named critical workers designated and telling them what measures they and those workers need to follow,’ the guidance said.

The guidance lists 16 sectors: energy, civil nuclear, digital infrastructure, food production and supply, waste, water, veterinary medicines, essential chemicals, essential transport, medicines, medical devices, clinical consumable supplies, emergency services, border control, essential defence and local government. 

But it adds that ‘in some exceptional cases’ there may be critical roles in other sectors which could be agreed on a case-by-case basis. 

Separate arrangements are in place for frontline health and care staff. 

Where employers believe the self-isolation of certain key employees as contacts would result in serious disruption to critical services, they have been asked to contact the relevant Government department. 

Individuals identified as contacts should only attend work in ‘critical elements of national infrastructure’ and if their absence ‘would be likely to lead to the loss or compromise of this infrastructure’ resulting in a ‘major detrimental impact’ on the delivery of essential services or a significant impact on national security. 

The guidance stressed the process ‘will not cover all or in most cases even the majority of workers in critical sectors’, suggesting that while people in crucial railway signalling roles could be covered by the exemption, it was less likely to be applied to individual drivers.   

Meanwhile, ministers have taken the first steps towards tackling the pingdemic crisis by setting up testing centres so deliveries can be maintained to supermarkets.  

Environment Secretary George Eustice said: ‘Food businesses across the country have been the hidden heroes of the pandemic. We are working closely with industry to allow staff to go about their essential work safely with daily testing. 

‘The last 18 months have demonstrated that we have a highly resilient food supply chain. There are sufficient food supplies in the system and people can and should shop as normal.’ 

But business leaders say the proposal won’t deal fully with the growing crisis, as Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng yesterday signalled the August 16 date could even be delayed. 

New estimates suggest 2.1 million people could be forced into up to ten days of self-isolation by next week after being pinged by the app or contacted by NHS Test and Trace.

The vast majority have already been double-jabbed against the virus and will test negative for any infection.

UKHospitality chief executive Kate Nicholls said: ‘Hospitality is facing significant staffing challenges just as restrictions ease after 16 months, with as many as a fifth of staff in the sector isolating at any one time.

‘We urge the Government to move faster on this issue to reduce business disruption and prevent the summer being cancelled for our sector.’

Julian Metcalfe, founder of Itsu and Pret a Manger, said: ‘It’s almost impossible for anyone in business to navigate this chaos and confusion.’

Wetherspoons founder Tim Martin added: ‘The vaccination programme has been a fantastic success. We now need pragmatic solutions, not indiscriminate pings from a failed IT system, which are rapidly driving the country into the rocks.’

And Clive Watson, of the City Pub Group, said: ‘It’s one thing pubs not being able to open, but this is also affecting the haulage industry and supermarkets. If shops start running out of food, we’re all in the proverbial.’

It comes after shoppers shared images of empty shelves while supermarkets warned of distribution issues amid staff shortages due to people quarantining in what is being dubbed the ‘pingdemic’.  

Mr Kwarteng admitted on Thursday that he was ‘concerned’ about food supply issues but urged shoppers not to ‘panic buy’ and said he ‘can’t guarantee’ the self-isolation crisis won’t continue beyond August 16 — when quarantine rules are due to be dropped for the fully-vaccinated. 

He earlier told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘We are going to announce a list of exempt workers’, but warned: ‘The list will be quite narrow’ and he would not ‘pre-empt’ the list when asked if the food industry would be on it. 

Mr Kwarteng added: ‘I don’t think it’s a question of applying for this. We’re going to be publishing guidance today on who might be exempt. We’re looking at different sectors and we will be publishing today the sectors that will be affected.’ 

No 10 said it was aware of the ‘impact’ self-isolation rules were having on some industries but stressed that the food supply chain was ‘resilient’.

As retailers begged for staff and delivery drivers to be made exempt from self-isolating when ‘pinged’, Tory MP Tobias Ellwood, chair of the Commons defence committee, said today: ‘The urgency of staff shortages now impacting on supermarkets and by extension national food distribution warrants a Cobra meeting today for which the deployment of the Army to assist in HGV driver shortfall should be a last resort option considered’. 

The release of a list of exempt industries marks a U-turn by the Government, who previously said it would be done on a ‘case by case’ basis. The PM’s official spokesman said on Tuesday: ‘We’re not going to be producing a list covering individual sectors, these business-critical areas will be able to apply for exemptions to their host departments.’ 

The Business Secretary also contradicted his junior business minister Paul Scully, who earlier this week said it was a decision for individuals and employers whether they should isolate after a ‘ping’ from the NHS Covid-19 app. 

Forcing children to isolate is ‘needless’ and daily testing of Covid contacts in schools drastically reduces staff and pupil absences without increasing infections, Oxford University study says

By Shaun Wooller Health Correspondent for the Daily Mail

Daily testing of Covid contacts in schools drastically reduces staff and pupil absences without increasing infections, a study suggests.

The policy proved just as effective at preventing outbreaks as sending home an entire ‘bubble’ for ten days when someone tested positive.

Fewer than one close contact in 50 was infected under either regime, researchers from Oxford University say.

But daily testing was significantly less disruptive to children’s education and could reduce days lost to self-isolation by 39 per cent, the scientists said. NHS Test and Trace said the study was ‘trailblazing’ for showing daily testing can safely keep pupils in class.

It comes after official figures showed a record 1.05million children were absent from school for Covid-related reasons last week.

The researchers analysed data on 201 secondary schools and colleges in England. From April to June, half of schools sent all contacts home for ten days and half allowed them to continue attending if they had a negative rapid test each day.

Dr David Eyre, who worked on the study, said: ‘Daily testing was able to identify most of the small number that do [test positive], which allowed them to safely isolate at home, while allowing the large majority of other students and staff to remain in school.’

Close contacts also took a PCR test on day two and seven following contact.

Just 1.5 per cent of contacts in the ‘daily testing’ schools had a positive PCR compared with 1.6 per cent of the other group. It means more than 98 per cent of contacts did not get Covid in isolation and suggests daily contact testing may slightly reduce transmission.

Dr Susan Hopkins, chief medical adviser for NHS Test and Trace, called the findings ‘a major breakthrough’. The study, backed by the Department of Health and Department for Education, is not yet peer reviewed.

Fears of continued disruption prompted the Government to keep its free online school open. The Oak National Academy will teach pupils at home for two more terms.

Top firms demand an end to ping peril: Businesses such as Heathrow, Iceland, Wetherspoon and Pret a Manger join calls to stop double-jabbed isolating 

By Sean Poulter, David Churchill and Lucy White for the Daily Mail 

Business leaders today join the Mail’s rallying cry to Boris Johnson to save the UK from the paralysing effects of the pingdemic.

Companies and organisations representing thousands of businesses employing millions are demanding an end to the quarantine of the healthy.

They speak for hospitality, retail, food supplies, manufacturing and transport – the foundations of the economy.

The business leaders are getting behind the Mail’s letter to the Prime Minister, asking him urgently to bring forward plans to alter the rules on August 16, so those who are double-jabbed are exempt from quarantining as long as they take regular tests. 

Ministers last night announced a move to keep the nation fed by setting up testing sites at 500 factories, warehouses and distribution centres so critical workers no longer need to isolate if they are pinged by the NHS Covid app.

But business leaders say the proposal won’t deal fully with the growing crisis, as Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng yesterday signalled the August 16 date could even be delayed.

New estimates suggest 2.1 million people could be forced into up to ten days of self-isolation by next week after being pinged by the app or contacted by NHS Test and Trace.

The vast majority have already been double-jabbed against the virus and will test negative for any infection.

This exodus of workers means there are gaps on supermarket shelves, particularly fresh produce, as an existing shortage of delivery drivers has been exacerbated by the impact of the app.

Food processors, car plants and other manufacturers are cutting production and shifts, threatening to paralyse the economy. Postal services are failing in many areas, while household bins are going uncollected, leaving rubbish to bake, creating a stink across our streets.

Police forces are taking longer to respond to 999 calls, while train services are suffering as staff are required to quarantine. There are also some concerns for petrol supplies.Business leaders say it is bizarre to require healthy people who have been double-jabbed and tested negative to quarantine if identified as a Covid contact by the app or Test and Trace.

Signatories to the Mail’s letter include UKHospitality chief executive Kate Nicholls, who said: ‘Hospitality is facing significant staffing challenges just as restrictions ease after 16 months, with as many as a fifth of staff in the sector isolating at any one time.

‘We urge the Government to move faster on this issue to reduce business disruption and prevent the summer being cancelled for our sector.’

There are increasing fears the app is losing public support, with one estimate suggesting usage is declining by 15 per cent a week.

Julian Metcalfe, founder of Itsu and Pret a Manger, said: ‘It’s almost impossible for anyone in business to navigate this chaos and confusion.

‘I think the Mail’s campaign is a great idea: if you’re double-jabbed, let people use their common sense and make their own decisions.’

Wetherspoons founder Tim Martin said: ‘The vaccination programme has been a fantastic success. We now need pragmatic solutions, not indiscriminate pings from a failed IT system, which are rapidly driving the country into the rocks.’

Clive Watson, of the City Pub Group, said: ‘It’s one thing pubs not being able to open, but this is also affecting the haulage industry and supermarkets. If shops start running out of food, we’re all in the proverbial.’

Signatories from the transport sector include Karen Dee, chief executive of the Airport Operators Association, and John Holland-Kaye, the boss of Heathrow. 

Rod McKenzie, of the Road Haulage Association, said: ‘The RHA strongly supports the lifting of the requirement for fully vaccinated lorry drivers to self-isolate if pinged. 

‘The UK is facing a critical shortage of lorry drivers and the fact that many fit and healthy drivers are required to isolate is unfair and illogical.’

Bob Sanguinetti, chief executive of the UK Chamber of Shipping, said: ‘The pingdemic has caused issues for lifeline ferry services, offshore energy workers and others providing vital services.

‘Seafarers are key workers and it is paramount those that are double-vaccinated can continue doing their essential work without disruption.’

Dr Roger Barker, of the Institute of Directors, said: ‘The Government’s handling of the issue of self-isolation is in a complete mess.

‘The month-long disconnect between the lifting of restrictions and the ending of self-isolation is exacerbating existing staff shortages.’

 

 

In a speech last month, Confederation of British Industry president Karan Bilimoria said the UK’s Shortage Occupation List ought to be updated ‘to help make sure the UK is open for business, and to get our economic recovery on the right track’.

He said: ‘Last year – in September 2020 – the Migration Advisory Committee recommended that we add certain roles to that list.

‘Butchers, bricklayers, and welders for example. Today, almost a year on, we worry those are exactly the same sectors facing shortages now.

‘Businesses would also welcome a commitment to review the list annually, to keep it responsive to the ebb and flow of skill demands across the whole of the UK’s economy.

‘And where there are clear, evidenced labour shortages, businesses should be able to hire from overseas.’

 

Supermarkets have urged customers not to panic buy amid reports of empty shelves in shops across the country.

The UK’s biggest supermarkets have described any shortages as ‘patchy’ across stores and said there was no need for customers to stock up.

They said any gaps on shelves are temporary as they await deliveries.

Shortages of some products have been sparked by a lack of HGV drivers and an increase in staff self-isolating.

There is now a shortfall of 100,000 drivers in the UK, according to the Road Haulage Association, with many having returned to the European Union.

The shortage has got worse as many drivers are also self-isolating because of the ‘pingdemic’ linked to the NHS app.

Many stores have a shortage of fresh fruit and vegetables, beer and kitchen roll but bosses stressed panic buying will create a problem that does not exist.

Iceland managing director Richard Walker said staff absence rates are double the usual number, with the figure rising 50 per cent ‘week on week’.

He told Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘We’ve now got over 1,000 staff off who have been pinged. That’s double the normal rates, and it’s rising at 50 per cent week on week. Our big concern is that we’ve kept all of our shops open throughout the pandemic, but now we have had to close one or two shops and reduce hours in others.

‘But that could get a lot worse a lot quicker unless the country’s system is sorted out.’

A Co-op spokesman said: ‘We are sorry that we are running low on some products but we are working closely with our suppliers to get re- stocked quickly.’

A Sainsbury’s spokesman said: ‘We are working hard to ensure customers can find what they need. While we might not always have the exact product a customer is looking for in every store, large quantities of products are being delivered to stores daily.’

Tesco confirmed that it had plenty of food and deliveries arriving across the UK every day.

British Retail Consortium chief executive Helen Dickinson said there is no need for the public to stockpile groceries.

She said: ‘There’s plenty of food in the country. What we’re seeing is pockets of issues in specific places where case numbers are particularly high. The most important thing is that the Government acts now before the situation does get more serious, so that we don’t see more empty shelves in more places.’

She warned of a ‘perfect storm’ of issues, including labour shortages ahead of the opening up of the economy and rising virus case numbers, with ‘more and more people asked to self-isolate’.

Yesterday, Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said a ‘very narrow’ list of sectors whose workers will be exempt from isolation rules will be published.