Scottish Government confirms additional £1,500 payments for taxi and private hire drivers will start next week dailyrecord.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from dailyrecord.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Townâs taxi drivers given Covid lifeline Clydebank taxi and private hire drivers have been given a lifeline to help their families cope with the drop in passenger numbers because of the pandemic. The Scottish Government diverted funding to local authorities to support businesses, and some of that has been to back taxi and private hire drivers. Clydebank Taxi Operators (CTO) recently formed as a new group to represent the 216 licensed operators in the town and pushed for grants from the discretionary fund. The group told the Post members have faced a drop of about 70 per cent in earnings since the pandemic started.
Reopen grant scheme to support taxi drivers, union demands A taxi driver grant scheme should be reopened because a third of cabbies have missed out, Unite Scotland has demanded. The trade union has accused the Scottish Government of “withholding” £19 million in unawarded grants from the £57 million Taxi and Private Hire Driver Support Fund that has now closed. But Finance Secretary Kate Forbes has instead pledged to give a second grant worth £1,500 to taxi drivers who received the first one – if the SNP government is re-elected. About 25,333 eligible drivers out of an estimated 38,000 across Scotland applied for the £1,500 grant, according to the union.
Reopen grant scheme to support taxi drivers, union demands
The Unite Scotland trade union has called for a grant scheme to be reopened (Jane Barlow/PA)
A taxi driver grant scheme should be reopened because a third of cabbies have missed out, Unite Scotland has demanded.
The trade union has accused the Scottish Government of “withholding” £19 million in unawarded grants from the £57 million Taxi and Private Hire Driver Support Fund that has now closed.
But Finance Secretary Kate Forbes has instead pledged to give a second grant worth £1,500 to taxi drivers who received the first one – if the SNP government is re-elected.