Home News

The majority of companies in the manufacturing and services sectors are reporting near record-high problems with recruiting enough staff, according to a new survey.More than nine in 10 employers in hospitality and catering are having difficulty finding staff, the poll of more than 5,600 firms by the British Chambers of Commerce suggests.Earlier this week, it was reported that the number of job vacancies across the UK reached a 20-year high of 1.1 million between July and September – more than double the number at the start of the pandemic, according to the Office for National Statistics.Adrian Hanrahan is the managing director of Robinson Brothers, a chemical manufacturing company in West Bromwich.The company employs 260 people and is currently trying to fill more than 20 vacancies.Mr Hanrahan said: “We have recruitment issues right across the board, I have never had anything like it before.“What we are struggling with is getting people in full-time posts, and this has been going on for some time.“It includes everything from engineering and maintenance to research, customer services and production operators.“It is a real challenge. We have raised our salaries and we still cannot find them, but we are a family business and there are limits to what we can do.“Pre-Brexit and pre-Covid we always had one or two vacancies, but this current scale is unprecedented. Everyone is looking for people.”Jane Gratton, of the British Chambers of Commerce, called for more targeted post-Brexit immigration measures to help companies find enough workers.She said: “It’s clear that staff shortages are worsening, impacting on recovery and growth for manufacturers and services businesses alike.“Recruitment difficulties mean vacancies are left unfilled and firms are struggling to maintain normal operations. While employers are investing more in training, apprenticeships and flexible working practices, this will not improve things overnight.“We need Government help to provide a more flexible skills system, rapid retraining opportunities and targeted immigration initiatives to plug skills and labour gaps.“Wage pressures and energy prices are also ramping up the cumulative costs and there is a limit to how much more can be absorbed before firms are forced out of business.“If action is not taken to address the mounting problems revealed by these data, then businesses will also face extreme difficulty in meeting demand and consumers will see further reductions in the goods and services available to them as we progress into winter.”The warnings over the manufacturing and services industry comes after care sector bosses in England said that they are struggling to recruit and retain staff.Industry body Skills for Care said that more jobs –about 100,000 of them – are unfilled now than before the Covid pandemic.There has also been a shortage of HGV drivers, warehouse staff, and slaughterhouse workers. More

The UK could be forced to rely on other nations for key nuclear and defence components unless ministers offer heavy industry an energy bailout, The Independent has learnt. Without fresh funds factories could be forced to halt production of critical inputs such as high-tech ceramic coatings, steel components and bespoke glassware, according to government and industry sources. Such products are used in a range of high security environments, including nuclear reactors, laboratories, ships and submarines. Britain would be forced to seek many of these inputs from overseas if these domestic companies fail, according to industry and government sources. This could breach some departmental procurement rules and the government’s aims laid out in its Integrated Review. The review pledged to “strengthen the resilience of our critical supply chains” so that the UK can engage with China “with confidence”. The government is looking to push China out of key nuclear power projects over security concerns. Last month fresh details of plans emerged to force Chinese energy giant, CGN to give up its 20 per cent stake in the Sizewell C nuclear plant in Suffolk. Concerns over whether a failure to secure financial aid will push sensitive suppliers to the wall will add to pressure on the Treasury, after Kwasi Kwarteng, the business secretary, presented a plan to the department for assistance for industries worst-affected by soaring energy prices. The cabinet minister made a formal request to Rishi Sunak’s department for support to energy intensive industries on Monday amid growing calls for emergency assistance and warnings over job losses. It followed a string of bilateral meetings with representatives of ceramics, steel, glass and chemicals industries throughout Monday. The renewed drive to engage with industry came after The Independent revealed last week that factories in these sectors could shut down production lines within weeks if there was no government aid to ease pressures from rising energy costs. Energy can account for as much as a third of the outgoings of these firms, leaving them highly vulnerable to the recent spikes in electricity and gas prices. A government source told The Independent that BEIS (Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy) had submitted proposals to Mr Sunak’s department – but details were not immediately clear. They confirmed that both industry and the business department the manufacturers’ role in critical supply chains as part of their discussions with Number 11. A business department spokesperson said: “We are determined to secure a competitive future for our energy intensive industries and the sectors reliant on them, including nuclear and defence, and in recent years have provided them with extensive support, including more than £2bn to help with the costs of energy and to protect jobs“Our exposure to volatile global gas prices underscores the importance of our plan to end Britain’s dependency on fossil fuels and build a strong, home-grown renewables sector so we can protect consumers​, including these industries, into the future from gas prices set by international markets.”Mr Kwarteng’s request follows a public spat between the two departments over the weekend. The business secretary was accused of “making things up” during broadcast interviews, after he suggested that the Treasury was engaged in talks on over support for heavy industry. Number 10 sought to draw a line under the row on Monday, lending its support to the business secretary and insisting that the Treasury was playing a role in the cross-Whitehall talks. “This is a significant challenge, and there’s work across government to mitigate it,” the prime minister’s official spokesperson said. However, they stopped short of confirming and declined to elaborate on whether “mitigations” would include financial support, saying: “I’m not going to jump ahead of any future conversations. It’s right that we continue to listen carefully to what industry are saying and have talks across government about whether any action is needed to mitigate the challenges.” There is recent precedent for government intervention in one of the sectors most-affected by the rise in energy costs. In July, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) bought steel-maker Sheffield Forgemasters. It said the move would protect supplies for the defence and nuclear programmes. Last month the government also provided a temporary bailout to CF Fertilisers, which produces around 60 per cent of the UK’s carbon dioxide used in industries metal production to food storage. The sharp rise in energy prices has prompted a fresh examination of the UK’s reliance on energy imports. While Britain has not generally sourced its natural gas from Russia, other major European economies do. A reluctance on Russia’s part to increase its exports to the continent in the face of supply shortages has increased pressure on the some of the UK’s key suppliers, such as Norway. Conservative frontbencher Lord Agnew also said on Monday that soaring energy costs were nothing to do with a lack of global gas stocks, but rather due to a “geopolitical move” by Russia to put pressure on Europe. The remarks appeared to be the strongest language yet from the government, with the Treasury minister directly pointing the finger at Moscow for the current crisis. “The current squeeze on gas prices is nothing to do with the quantity of gas available,” he told peers in the House of Lords. “It is a geopolitical move by Russia to put pressure on Europe and we are caught up in that. Public ownership of our own utilities would make no difference.” The peer’s comments followed a call from Labour’s shadow Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, for the Treasury to support energy-intensive industries. She also accused the chancellor of being “missing in action” over the crisis. “A temporary increase in energy prices must not mean great industries like steel, ceramics, glass, paper and chemicals disappear, just because they happen to be intensive users of energy,” the shadow chancellor said, urging the government to “get an immediate grip” on the situation. More

Social care could be drastically cut unless chancellor Rishi Sunak provides a substantial injection of funding to local authorities, council leaders have warned.England’s largest councils say they could be forced to slash services in the face of a multi-billion-pound black hole in their finances.County councils have calculated they will have a £2.8bn cash shortfall in the next three years even if council tax bills rise by 1.99 per cent each year, the maximum allowed for general spending.The chancellor is thought to be considering allowing local authorities to raise council tax to address their shortfall without the need for a referendum, just as other household bills are already going up.But the County Councils Network said the only way to avoid major cuts to services would be to increase council tax by up to 7.99 per cent every year, which would add £392 to an average bill over the next three years.Council leaders said that with the cost of living rising, a total rise of at least 24 per cent would be unacceptable and unfair on households.A rise of that scale would mean the average Band D bill would average £2,386 a year by 2025, up from £1,898 now.Councils were already struggling from years of austerity even before coronavirus hit, but lockdowns and social distancing caused their income to plummet and they faced extra bills for supporting people through the pandemic.At the start of the year, authorities warned they were up to £2.2bn short of funding.Hiking council tax cannot be the sole answer to filling the shortfall, argued the county council chiefs, who called for a chunk of cash for the next three years in Mr Sunak’s spending review on 27 October to avoid services being slashed.Authorities said they were facing the most significant pressures in social care, so fees in adult social care could be increased and preventative services in children’s social care cut back.Other potential effects include tightening eligibility criteria, the leaders warned.The £2.8bn cash shortfall was calculated from the financial plans of the 36 councils that belong to the network, which cover almost half of England’s population.Although council tax is imposed by district councils, bills include a “precept” for the counties.They predict the legacy of Covid-19, such as greater demand for children’s services and higher costs in adult social care, will keep straining their budgets in future years.It’s thought Mr Sunak is considering letting local authorities increase the social care precept element of council tax above the 2.99 per cent limit.Carl Les, finance spokesperson for the County Councils Network, said: “County local authorities face an extremely difficult three years coming up, with rising costs of delivering services, demographic pressures and the legacy of coronavirus meaning that we need to find savings or increased income of £2.8bn over the next years to balance our books.“We are acutely aware that the cost of living is rising and that many households have suffered from the economic impact of the pandemic.“Therefore, large-scale council tax rises to make up our funding shortfall would be unacceptable and unfair for hard-pressed residents.“It would also be an unsustainable approach to funding services, raising variable amounts across the country.“We appreciate the tight fiscal environment facing the chancellor, but we are calling on the government to inject further funding into the system for local authorities over the next three years, in order to avoid a further round of large-scale reductions in services.“The government’s levelling-up agenda must begin with making public services adequately funded.”The Independent has asked the Treasury to comment. More

As Boris Johnson roused the Tory party faithful in Manchester with his speech about economic growth and rising wages, 200 miles away food bank users were streaming in. “Things are more expensive,” said Joan, sitting amid rows of tins, pasta and other produce in Dad’s House, a charity that runs a foodbank in southwest London. “Things are great for people who are working and don’t see all this. Because I never used to see this.”She started coming to the food bank earlier this year after losing her job as a nanny.“I used to give things to a food bank. I never used to come here myself,” she said.In his widely criticised speech on Wednesday, the prime minister mentioned the word “growth” six times and twice praised Britain as the fastest-growing economy in the G7.The Conservatives had “fixed the economy”, he told party members, moments before promising: “We are going to fix this economy.”He also said the “present stresses and strains” of the economy – labour shortages, soaring household energy costs and warnings over food supplies – were “mainly a function of growth and economic revival”.But visitors to Dad’s House told The Independent the economy is not working well for them. “It’s hard to keep your head above the water,” said John Krell, who is retired. “We have gas and electric going sky-high.”The 70-year-old said he has bought a headtorch “like you would wear in the mine” and goes to bed at 7.30pm to avoid putting the lights on.“What a life,” he says. “Who would’ve thought that, years ago.” Azahia Atnane has not been able to find a job. Her husband works part-time as a waiter but would like to be full-time.“There is no employment,” she says. Now, she is bracing herself for the impact of the cut in Universal Credit as its £20-per-week extra – introduced during the pandemic – is scrapped.Food banks were preparing for a surge in demand as the change in Universal Credit came into force from Wednesday, amid warnings vulnerable people could be plunged into poverty “almost overnight”. Billy McGranaghan, the founder of Dad’s House, told The Independent there had already been an increase in users over the past month – ten to 15 more each week.Among the new users are young people who had lost jobs in hospitality, he said.In his Tory conference speech, Mr Johnson said the government was tackling what he described as the UK economy’s “long-term structural weaknesses”.He said the country was having a “change in direction” with a move to a “high wage, high skill, high productivity” economy. More

Food banks are expecting a surge in demand for their services and say vulnerable people will be plunged into poverty “almost overnight” because of a cut to Universal Credit.The £20-a week uplift, introduced at the start of the pandemic, is set to be scrapped despite fears hundreds of thousands of people will be “massively hit”. As an estimated six million of the UK’s poorest brace for the change to their incomes from Wednesday, groups that run food banks have shared their concerns over what this change will mean for their users. “We’re anticipating a huge surge in need for independent food banks as the impact of the cut to Universal Credit and cost of living increases take hold,” Sabine Goodwin from the Independent Food Aid Network told The Independent.“On top of this, many of our food banks are struggling to access food supply.” The co-ordinator at the group, which represents over 500 independent food banks in the UK, added: “It’s critical that the government reverses its decision on Universal Credit and ensures social security payments and wages match the cost of living so we can put an end to poverty and the need for food banks in the UK.”The Salvation Army also said it was bracing for a surge in demand for its food banks.“The government worked hard throughout the pandemic to protect people from financial hardship, but the loss of the furlough scheme and the Universal Credit uplift will plunge vulnerable people into poverty almost overnight,” Lieutenant-Colonel Dean Pallant from the charity and church said.The charity’s food bank in Keighley gave 3,600 people food parcels during the 12 months to March 2020, which members fear will get worse with the benefits cut. Meanwhile, Bradford Central Foodbank helped 2,500 people in just one month during the pandemic and manager Josie Barlow said many more will soon need support. She told the BBC: “People will be massively hit by the cut in Universal Credit. People going from £409 as a single person down to £323 a month. It is a 21 per cent cut in income.”She added. “Especially in winter with electricity bills, fuel prices are rising, that combined with the furlough scheme ending, it is going to really push so many more people to needing a foodbank.”Gary Stringer, a volunteer at the same foodbank who is on Universal Credit, told the BBC the weekly cut of £20 to the payment was a “big concern”. “I do worry about it because I’m trying to look for work at the moment. There is nothing available,” he said. From Wednesday, no assessments will include the uplift, meaning that from 13 October – a week later – no payments will be received that include the extra money.Boris Johnson is preparing to tell the Tory party conference his “levelling up” agenda is key to supporting left-behind communities.Ahead of this speech, Dominic Raab, the deputy prime minister, defended the £20 weekly cut.“Of course the emergency support we have provided was because of the pandemic,” he told Sky News. “As we come through the pandemic, with youth unemployment going down, employment going up, we need to transition. We don’t want to see people reliant on the welfare trap.”But the change has faced criticism from charities, think tanks and unions from across the political spectrum and calls for the government to U-turn on the decision.The Whitehawk Foodbank in Brighton called for the £20 top-up to be reinstated “immediately”. It said it gave out a “staggering 3,689 parcels” last year and was “concerned this will increase again”. The Trussell Trust, which has a network of hundreds of food banks in the UK, also said it wanted to see the decision to cut Universal Credit by £20 a week reversed. A government spokesperson told the BBC: “As announced by the chancellor at the budget, the uplift to Universal Credit was always temporary. It was designed to help claimants through the economic shock and financial disruption of the toughest stages of the pandemic, and it has done so.” They added: “Universal Credit will continue to provide vital support for those both in and out of work and it’s right that the government should focus on our plan for jobs, supporting people back into work and supporting those already employed to progress and earn more.”The Treasury has been contacted for comment by The Independent. Additional reporting by Press Association More

Ministers have been told that just 27 fuel tanker drivers have applied to work in the UK from the EU through the government’s emergency visa scheme which is designed to fix the country’s petrol shortages, according to a report.The Times has reported that there has been little interest in the visas available for HGV drivers in the fuel industry, raising questions over how many people will actually come to the UK to fill vacancies.Earlier this week, the government announced that 300 fuel drivers would be allowed to come to the UK from overseas “immediately” and stay until March, while a further 4,700 visas for foreign food truck drivers will be allowed from later this month until the end of February.There are now concerns among ministers that the failure to recruit drivers will lead to further delays in restocking service stations and to the government having to rely on the army for assistance for longer, according to The Times.“People don’t want to come unless it is a really attractive alternative,” Rod McKenzie, director of policy at the Road Haulage Association, told the newspaper.“You don’t give up a well-paid job for a better-paid job if it will only last a few months.”It came after health secretary Sajid Javid insisted on Saturday that he was “confident” that workers would come to the UK.“Of course there is competition for drivers – that’s taking place throughout Europe – but it is important that we try to do what we can,” Mr Javid told Sky News.“I am confident with the temporary visa changes that have been announced we will get more drivers.”On Monday, industry leaders warned that there would be gaps on supermarket shelves this Christmas due to shortages as chancellor Rishi Sunak argued that he could not “wave a magic wand” to make the supply chain problems go away.“We’re seeing supply disruption, not just here but in lots of different places, and there are things we can try and mitigate, and we are,” Mr Sunak told BBC Radio 4’s Today show.“But we can’t wave a magic wand. There’s nothing I can do about the decision by a country in Asia to shut down a port because of a coronavirus outbreak.”About 200 military personnel – half of them drivers – have been deployed to help deliver petrol to forecourts as about 22 per cent of filling stations in London and the southeast reportedly still do not have fuel.Additional reporting by PA More

The Metropolitan Police officer who murdered Sarah Everard worked as a guard at the Houses of Parliament, the force has confirmed.Scotland Yard said Wayne Couzens was deployed to armed static protection duties on the parliamentary estate on five occasions from February to July last year.Previously, the Met refused to go into detail about Couzen’s posting at Westminster, according to The Times. But his role was confirmed following inquiries by Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the Commons speaker.The force said Couzens moved to the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command in February 2020 and his primary role was to patrol diplomatic premises, mainly embassies.A senior parliamentary source told The Times they believed the Met had “deliberately tried to mislead the parliamentary authorities by claiming Couzens did not have a parliamentary pass [issued under his own name]”.Couzens, 48, was nicknamed “the rapist” by colleagues. He was said in court to have been “attracted to brutal sexual pornography” as far back as 2002.The police watchdog previously said he was linked to a flashing incident in 2015 and two more incidents just days before he killed Ms Everard.He used his warrant card to falsely arrest Ms Everard before he abducted, raped and murdered her.A senior parliamentary source told The Times Couzens was granted an access-all-areas pass while working at the Houses of Parliament.The revelation has sparked outrage among MPs. Labour MP Rosie Duffield said: “It’s chilling that someone whose nickname was ‘the rapist’ was guarding MPs when we are told that we are protected by a ring of steel.“Knowing now that we had a murderer in our midst, I’m sure all women working in parliament will want to see a thorough security review.”Mr Hoyle said: “Like everyone, I have been sickened by the depravity of Wayne Couzens – and heartbroken for the family of Sarah Everard.“I have asked the Met to meet me urgently to discuss how this person could have been deemed suitable for deployment here.“Further, I will be seeking reassurance that at no time was anyone on the parliamentary estate put at risk.”Additional reporting by PA More

The UK faces a shortage of pigs in blankets this Christmas as a lack of butchers threatens to disrupt supplies of pork, industry leaders have said.In the latest twist of the supply chain crisis hitting Britain in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and Brexit, the government has said it is “working closely” with the pig industry to “address the pressures industry is currently facing”.As with the petrol shortages, which saw the military mobilised to drive petrol tankers, ministers are now reportedly mulling relaxing visa rules for up to 1,000 foreign butchers.The industry is short of some 15,000 workers, according to the British Meat Processors Association (BMPA), which has forced its members to just focus on keeping supermarkets stocked with basic cuts of meat.While supermarket shelves are already missing some pork products which have been rationalised, the butchers shortage also risks causing animal welfare issues on farms as mounting numbers of livestock await slaughter, raising the prospect of an imminent cull of 150,000 pigs.“We really should have been producing Christmas food from about June or July onwards this year and so far we haven’t, so there’ll be shortages of party foods and things like pigs in blankets. Anything that is labour-intensive work could see shortages,” a BMPA spokesperson told The Times.The industry body warned as far back as mid-August that shortages of “the more complicated lines like pigs in blankets and gammon roasts” already looked “inevitable”, with many meat companies already six weeks behind their Christmas production schedules.While Priti Patel, the home secretary, is reported to be against easing visa rules, the Home Office said it is “closely monitoring labour supply and working with sector leaders to understand how we can best ease particular pinch points”.With butchers already classed as skilled workers under the UK’s immigration system, ministers have discussed relaxing the requirement for them to speak a good level of English, according to The Times, which quoted a government: “We’re not going to return to freedom of movement by incrementally adding every sector to points-based immigration.”In addition to the 5,000 temporary visas to be issued to foreign HGV drivers, the government announced on Sunday it would also relax visa rules for 5,500 poultry workers, after the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) urged Boris Johnson to do so.Calling for an urgent meeting with Ms Patel and immigration minister Kevin Foster, NFU president Minette Batters warned a cull of up to 150,000 pigs was “potentially a week, ten days away”.“I do not feel anybody can preside over a welfare cull of healthy livestock. I don’t believe it has happened in the world before and it cannot happen now,” Ms Batters told the BBC.Lizzie Wilson of the National Pig Association said the shortage of butchers meant processors were operating at 25 per cent reduced capacity, leaving “about 120,000 pigs sat on farm currently that should have already been slaughtered, butchered, be within the food chain and eaten by now”.“It is getting to the point where we are saying to government if we don’t get some help soon we’re going to have to look at culling pigs on farm, because that’s our only option now,” she said, adding “there are some producers that have already had the conversation.”Just weeks ago, the prime minister insisted “Christmas is on”, following concerns about the supply of turkeys. Ministers were forced to strike a deal using taxpayers’ money to pay the operating costs of a major US-owned fertiliser manufacturer to ensure the supply of CO2 for the food sector.A spokesman for the Department For Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: “We understand the importance of seasonal labour and we are aware of the challenges that the pig industry has faced in recent months because of the Covid-19 pandemic and labour shortages, and Defra has been working closely with the pig and processing sectors during this time. “We are keeping the market under close review and continuing to work closely with the sector to explore options to address the pressures industry is currently facing.”A Home Office spokesperson said: “Similar challenges are being faced by other countries around the world. We want to see employers make long-term investments in the UK domestic workforce instead of relying on labour from abroad. Our Plan for Jobs is helping people across the country retrain, build new skills and get back into work.“The government encourages all sectors to make employment more attractive to UK domestic workers through offering training, careers options wage increases and investment.”While the Covid pandemic has exacerbated labour shortages, Brexit and new immigration rules have also played a role, with the British Poultry Council warning last year: “The great British Christmas cannot survive without access to non-UK labour.”Additional reporting by agencies More