Britain on the brink: Millions of shoppers claim they have been unable to buy FOOD

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Millions of shoppers have been unable to buy essential foods in the past two weeks, it was revealed yesterday, with soldiers set to be drafted in to drive HGVs over Christmas as Britain's supply chain crisis continues.

Shocking new figures from the Office of National Statistics said around one in six Britons have been unable to buy essential food items in the last fortnight in the latest sign of UK panic-buying.

A survey of 1,000 consumers by The Grocer revealed that two thirds of shoppers were either worried or 'very worried' by potential shortages of food and drink ahead of the festive season.

To ensure they get their dinner on the table for December 25, hundreds of thousands of panicked shoppers have already booked in their delivery slots for Christmas with one in three shoppers already starting to stock up on groceries.

Waitrose saw 22,000 festive slots booked by lunchtime on the first day of releasing their dates last week, while 112,000 had been booked by the end of the week. Ocado, which is releasing slots more slowly, has sent out a 'sorry if you haven't been able to a Christmas Slot in time' reply on its FAQ page.

Britain has been plagued by a series of crises in recent weeks, with soaring gas prices and HGV shortages causing chaos.

Now, senior Government figures have reportedly said that they are considering keeping soldiers on to drive HGV lorries across Christmas in a bid to prevent food shortages.

Elsewhere, Boris Johnson appointed former Tesco boss Sir Dave Lewis as his new supply chain crisis tsar with a remit to clear 'blockages' and 'pre-empt potential future ones' after dismissing concerns over labour shortages, Britain's creaking supply chain and fears over rising inflation.

In a string of developments yesterday:

The National Grid prompted fears of blackouts with a warning over electricity supplies this winter, and more energy firms were expected to collapse, with customers being switched to suppliers charging higher tariffs;
Andrew Large, director-general at the Confederation of Paper Industries, warned the Government that there are 'serious' risks factories could stop all activities as a result of the gas prices being too high;
It was claimed the UK would become more reliant on dirty coal to keep the lights on, just as it hosts a UN climate change conference;
Experts warned that Britain faced an inflation shock that would squeeze family finances and could derail the economic recovery;
One City analyst said inflation was heading to levels not seen for 30 years, while a think-tank warned of a big increase in council tax;
The National Energy Action said up to 1.5 million more households could be plunged into fuel poverty if the energy cap soars;
Boris Johnson faced a Cabinet backlash over his war with business, with five ministers telling the Daily Mail they wanted the PM to adopt a more 'pragmatic' approach;
Industry chiefs said the switch to 'greener' petrol last month was a 'contributory factor' to the recent fuel crisis.

Amid fears of food shortages in the coming months and panic buying leading to empty supermarket shelves, one in six adults have been unable to buy essential food items in the last fortnight.

Some 17 per cent of adults said they had not been able to purchase such goods because they were not available, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

While almost a quarter of adults said the same for non-essential food items, the ONS found after analysing responses from 3,326 adults between September 22 and October 3 as part of its Opinions and Lifestyle survey.

It asked about people's experiences of shortages over the past fortnight and overall, 57 per cent of people said everything they needed was still available to buy.

One in seven residents were unable to buy fuel as fears of petrol shortages and struggles with HGV driver recruitment led to drivers queuing for hours to get fuel and petrol stations being forced to close due to low supplies.

Six in 10 people said their food shopping experience had been different to usual, while 43 per cent said there was less variety, and 14 per cent had to go to more shops to get what they needed.

Amid fears that empty supermarket shelves will continue and worsen as Christmas approaches, hundreds of thousands of panicked shoppers have already booked in their delivery slots for the festive season.

A survey of 1,000 consumers by The Grocer revealed that two thirds of shoppers were either worried or 'very worried' by potential shortages of food and drink ahead of the festive season.

Supermarkets have been ramping up orders for turkey, the trimmings and other essentials to cope with an earlier than usual rush, according to the magazine.

Retailers have warned of empty shelves and delays to gifts due to gaps in the global supply chain and a lack of HGV drivers, amid concerns of a 'winter of discontent' hitting the UK.

School dinner choice is slashed and staff told to stockpile 'long-life, dried and frozen food' amid fears suppliers will struggle to keep children fed with shortages this winter
School dinner choices are being slashed and staff advised to stockpile essential food supplies amid fears suppliers will struggle to keep children properly fed this winter.

ISS, one of the UK's largest canteen suppliers, has reportedly told 450 schools it is having issues with 'sourcing, packing and distribution', predicting that the problem will 'get worse' over the winter and will continue until February.

School canteens were advised by ISS in an email to stockpile 'long life, dried, tinned and frozen' products to make sure children can still be fed in a 'worse case scenario' this winter, according to ITV News.

Meanwhile, food wholesaler BidFood has warned that it is experiencing 'significant' supply pressures and struggling to recruit HGV drivers, blaming the issues on the Covid-19 pandemic and Brexit.

In Lancashire, thousands of pupils are being offered a reduced menu, The Times reported.

'One school this week has not had a delivery of sandwiches. Another, no soup was sent. One school cook has even reported going out and purchasing additional items out of her own money as she was concerned about the choices on offer,' Samara Barnes, a Labour councillor, told Lancashire Live.

'This is a grave concern, especially given the fact that we know some children rely on their school dinner as their only meal of the day.'

Over the past month, one in ten businesses have put up prices due to rising inflation which is yet to peak, according to economists.

Mike Watkins, of analysts NielsenIQ, told The Grocer: 'Shoppers tend to leave most of their Christmas grocery shopping later in November, but clearly this year we're seeing late-November demand brought forward into October because of the concerns consumers have read and heard about, turkeys being a great example.'

Amid the panic buying, record numbers of panicked shoppers are already booking supermarket delivery slots for December.

Waitrose saw 22,000 festive slots booked by lunchtime on the first day of releasing their dates last week, while 112,000 had been booked by the end of the week.

Ocado, which is releasing slots more slowly, has sent out a 'sorry if you haven't been able to a Christmas Slot in time' reply on its FAQ page.

Tesco is not releasing slots to customers on its Delivery Saver scheme until November 15 and for others on the 23 - the same dates as last year.

Supermarkets are not the only place that are experiencing shortages, as footballer Marcus Rashford said some of the food banks he works with have been experiencing supply issues.

He told BBC Breakfast: 'They're struggling to do what they love doing because there's a shortage of food and of course it's something that we're going to have to find an answer to, and quickly as well because you know people are out there and they need the meals and especially going into winter.'

Elsewhere, Boris Johnson today appointed former Tesco boss Sir Dave Lewis as his new supply chain crisis tsar with a remit to clear 'current blockages' and 'pre-empt potential future ones'.

The 56-year-old is nicknamed 'Drastic Dave' due to the lengths he will go to to turn around businesses, including job cuts and slashing prices, and 'Diamond Dave' because of his success at Britain's biggest supermarket and at Unilever before that.

Mr Johnson has insisted it is not his job to 'fix every problem in business' caused by Brexit and the pandemic and repeatedly dismissed concerns over labour shortages, Britain's creaking supply chain and fears over rising inflation.

But today's appointment, welcomed by business leaders, is a sign Downing Street has growing concerns about the crisis after weeks of product shortages, queues at petrol stations and the growing threat of Christmas staples such as turkeys, pigs in blankets and gammons being scarce.

Aldi is hiring 1,500 temporary store staff to deal with the expected Christmas rush and Island, which has seen frozen turkey sales up 409 per cent compared to the same period last year, has upped its order from suppliers by 20 per cent.

Aldi recruitment director, Kelly Stokes, said: 'We always need extra support over the busy Christmas period but this year especially, temporary store colleagues will play a vital role in keeping our shelves stocked as the nation prepares to reunite with their loved ones after missing out on festive celebrations in 2020.'

Mr Johnson has a lot riding on the festive period, having promised last week that 'Christmas will be considerably better than last Christmas'.

Source: Daily mail
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