Oliver Dowden vows to put 'turkeys on the table' at Christmas amid supply chain chaos
TURKEY will be on the tables of Britons this Christmas despite food shortages and chaos in Britain's supply chains, Tory Chairman Oliver Dowden has vowed.
Oliver Dowden vows to 'put turkeys on the table' at Christmas
Speaking from the Conservative Party conference in Manchester, Mr Dowden insisted delivering Christmas is at the top of the Government's list following weeks of labour shortages, chaos in the supply chain, HGV driver shortages and fuel prices soaring.
Mr Dowden said: “There are challenges with supply chains.
“We are not unique in the UK in this. For example if you look across other countries like Poland, the US, other countries.
“There are shortages of drivers, that is to do with a range of factors not least the fact that testing wasn’t happening during COVID.
“You have got an ageing population of drivers. We are taking steps to address that.”
JUST IN Christmas chaos as 5,500 short-term EU work visas 'not enough' to put turkeys on shelves
He added: “Whether that is extending the time before you have to renew your licence, whether that is beefing up the capacity to do tests.”
But Trevor Phillips hit back, asking: “But you can’t promise me that there is going to be turkey on the table at Christmas?”
Dowden insisted: “We will make sure people have their turkeys for Christmas.
"And I know that foe the environment secretary George Eustice this is absolutely top of his list."
READ MORE Macron shamed for ‘opportunistic' EU farming policy 'This is protectionism at its worst'
Turkey farm exposed by Oakeshott for no job advertising
Mr Dowden's comments come amid soaring concerns over the impact supply chain delays and labour shortages will have over the festive period in Britain.
It comes as the Government has launched an emergency scheme to give 5,500 three-month work visas to poultry workers from outside the UK - and 5,000 to HGV drivers - to ease the pressure on the supply chain network and get food on shelves.
But speaking to Radio 4's Farming Today on Saturday, Minette Batters, president of the National Farmers' Union, and Shane Brennan, CEO of the Cold Storage Federarion, stressed the visa plans are too little too late.
While welcoming the Government move, Ms Batters stressed how the supply chain does not need “too much disruption for things to go wrong”.
DON'T MISS
William book win sends message to Harry and Meghan [LIVE BLOG]
Xi Jinping's terrifying plot to 're-engineer' society exposed [VIDEO]
Macron Brussels power grab destroyed as France push for EU army [INTERVIEW]
She added how these issues are also compounded by the soaring costs of goods in the UK as shortages of staff and fuel in Britain are thrown into the equation.
Ms Batters said: “It is a shame to be honest that we are having this conversation today and that we haven’t seen action to date.”
Mr Brennan was then asked if those visas will work to deliver Christmas for millions of Britons this year, he replied: “We are going to try and make it work or work as far as it can. But the reality is not 5,500 is not enough in a world where we are missing 100,000 drivers.”
The cold storage expert went on to hit out at the move by the Government, accusing them of trying to “shoehorn” recruitment for drivers into a seasonal agricultural worker scheme.