Taxi Driver Online

Brighton and Hove’s struggling cabbies and nurseries to receive financial lifeline

Struggling cabbies could be handed a £500,000 financial lifeline by Brighton and Hove City Council, if the three party leaders approve the latest round of covid grants.

And a further £150,000 could bring some relief to nurseries and childminders, if the three senior councillors back the plan at an urgent meeting tomorrow (Thursday 4 February).

Brighton and Hove News reported the taxi and private hire trade’s plea for help at the weekend, along with news that three local cabbies had died from the coronavirus.

A last-minute report to the council’s Policy and Resources Urgency Sub-Committee, which is due to hold a virtual meeting tomorrow, said: “The impact of the covid-19 pandemic is being felt by the city’s private licenced private hire and hackney carriage (taxi) drivers.

“With pubs, bars, venues (and) indoor entertainment closed, and people advised to stay at home, drivers have experienced a significant loss in turnover while still having to cover key business costs.

“As a public-facing service, licensed taxi drivers are considered to be in a high-risk group.

“A recent report by the Office for National Statistics showed that covid-19 death rates among people in jobs such as taxi driving were up to three times higher than the national average.

“Licensed taxi drivers play an important role within the city and are making a significant contribution to the vaccination programme by, for example, transporting residents to their appointments.

“The proposal is for the negative impact on taxi drivers to be recognised with a specific grant award.

“The grant will be in relation to the fixed business costs that drivers incur for their taxi licence, insurance, vehicle maintenance and covid-19 safety measures in this period.

“The proposal is for a one-off payment, on application, of between £250 and £400 to private hire and hackney carriage drivers licensed in Brighton and Hove.

“There are approximately 1,300 licensed private hire taxis in the city. The estimated cost of this award is between £325,000 and £520,000.”

The report added: “Early years and wrap-around childcare providers were not eligible under the criteria for the period (Thursday) 5 November to (Tuesday) 1 December 2020 because they were permitted to be open for business during that period.

“The government’s lockdown guidance for early years and childcare settings is that from (Tuesday) 5 January

“These services play a vital role in the local economy, for example, by enabling key workers to work. However, wrap-around providers in particular have been severely impacted by the coronavirus restrictions.

“It is therefore recommended that awards are made based on these circumstances for the period (Tuesday) 5 January to (Monday) 15 February 2021.

“For this six-week period, it is proposed that there are two levels of payment – £3,000 for providers with specific business premises and high fixed costs and £750 for licenced providers without specific business premises but with other fixed costs.

“The total cost of awards for this period is estimated to be £60,000 to £75,000, representing 45 to 65 awards of grants to these businesses.

“Additional payments to these businesses are proposed for the six-week period from (Tuesday) 16 February to (Monday) 29 March if further lockdown or tier restrictions are imposed.

“The suggested payments for this period would be a further £3,000 and £750 respectively.

“The total costs of awards for this period is estimated to be £60,000 to £75,000, representing 45 to 65 awards to business.”

By the end of last week, the council had paid grants totalling more than £25 million to businesses that had closed or faced other restrictions because of the pandemic.

The latest batch of grants, including any payments to cabbies and nurseries, is expected to amount to £8.4 million.

The grants are funded by the government which has set up a number of schemes, each with different rules and conditions.

The sub-committee meeting is due to start at 5pm tomorrow and should be webcast on the council’s website.

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IDFIMH

what's that then 400 each

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Justice for the 96. It has only taken 27 years...........repeat the same lies for 27 years and the truth sounds strange to people!

they haven't anything yet keep your fingers crossed

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

Certainly not huge sums of money, but again it's more than most are getting, and it's better than nothing

Top councillors agreed that the local trade should be given some money but have left it down to the licensing committee to decide on the amount.

Which is a good move for the trade IMO.

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IDFIMH

Council back Covid cash for Brighton and Hove taxi drivers

TAXI drivers in Brighton and Hove look set to get £500,000 to help them get through the Covid crisis.

The money would be shared between 1,300 cabbies in the city, after Brighton and Hove City Council backed the idea at a meeting yesterday.

It follows the news that three of the city's taxi drivers have died during the pandemic with others struggling financially and some using food banks.

Drivers will be able to apply for up to £400 as part of the scheme, intended to cover the cost of Covid safety measures, rather than subside lost income.

The details have yet to be finalised and it has not yet been announced how cabbies will be able to apply for money.

Green council leader Phelim Mac Cafferty said an emergency meeting would be held to discuss the concerns of the city's taxi drivers.

He said the council was "working behind the scenes" to look at other ideas including ways to reduce the burden of costs, red tape and technical requirements at a time when takings have plummeted.

Councillor Mac Cafferty said his colleague were "hopeful that they are going to be able to come to the trade with the best possible package considering the circumstances”.

Members of all parties have expressed sympathy for the plight of Brighton and Hove’s cabbies while trying to work out how to provide help within the rules set out by the government.

Councillor Mac Cafferty added: “We may be able to review what’s going on. Some of this depends on the national picture.”

He said that one of the frustrations was that the council had no way to prevent drivers who were licensed elsewhere from coming in to Brighton and Hove and “hoovering up trade”.

Labour opposition leader Nancy Platts and Conservative group leader Steve Bell praised the council for trying to reach drivers from black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) groups with information about support.

The taxi trade had a high proportion of drivers from ethnic minorities and was a high-risk group for coronavirus infections and deaths.

Councillor Platts asked whether any other trades or business groups were still missing out on government support during the pandemic.

She referred to leftover grant money from earlier support schemes which had to be handed back to the government and said: “It was very disappointing that despite three requests of government before, we had businesses that desperately needed money to survive and then we were forced to hand back that money rather than switch it from one fund to another.

“I think a lot of businesses were very disappointed by that but obviously we don’t make the rules.”

The council’s executive director for the economy, environment and culture, Nick Hibberd, said that many self-employed people, sole traders and directors of small limited companies were missing out because they did not have fixed costs.

He said: “We are taking the approach that wherever we are able to support businesses, we will.

“When we did some analysis of the discretionary grants, more than 20 per cent of those grants have been awarded to sole traders and the self-employed.

“We are trying to support businesses wherever the government guidance allows us to do so.”

Councillor Bell said that the grants would “lighten the burden” on families and businesses and he asked whether there was money left for other sectors where businesses are struggling.

The council’s acting chief financial officer Nigel Manvell said that there would still be funds to help other businesses.

Councillor Bell praised cabbies, saying: “The taxi drivers and all other businesses do so much in and around the city.

“It’s good to see some of them crowdfunding – so that we can contribute – so they are able to offer taxis free of charge to those who are getting their vaccinations.

“That takes away the angst from some people and the concerns they are facing when they want their vaccination and they can’t afford a taxi and it is difficult to get there.”

Money will also be made available for some nurseries and childminders who were not eligible for grants during the November lockdown but were currently allowed to open only for vulnerable children and the children of key workers.

The meeting this evening agreed to budget between £60,000 and £75,000 in total, with officials expected to hand out between 45 and 65 grants.

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IDFIMH