Over 3,000 Scottish taxi drivers access £1,500 COVID support grant in first ten days

In just the first ten days since applications opened, over 3,000 Scottish taxi and private hire drivers have accessed a vital £1,500 Scottish Government support grant helping cabbies financially impacted by the pandemic.

According to Scottish Government sources, the Taxi and Private Hire Driver Support Fund has paid out £4,656,000 to 3,108 drivers via local authorities up to 29 January.

Eligible cab drivers in Scotland will each receive a £1,500 support grant as part of the new fund worth £57million for drivers affected by the pandemic.

It is estimated that local authorities will approach around 38,000 private hire and taxi drivers inviting them to claim the grant to assist with fixed costs, boosting the support from other funding for loss of income available through the Scottish and UK Governments.

Across all business sectors the new statistics released show businesses have received £276million through the Strategic Framework Business Fund (SFBF), the hospitality, leisure and retail top up payments and the Taxi and Private Hire Driver Support Fund since November 2020.

A total of £244million was paid by these three funds in January alone, including the £4.7million paid to taxi and private hire drivers in the first 10 days of claims. Statistics relating to other live funds will be published in due course.

Welcoming the figures, Finance Secretary Kate Forbes also confirmed that the Local Authority Discretionary Fund will be doubled to £120million to allow councils to respond further to local economic pressures.

Ms Forbes said: “Since the start of the pandemic we’ve done everything in our power to protect people’s livelihoods with business support accounting for over a third of total COVID-19 spend. Today’s figures demonstrate how closely we are working with colleagues in local government to ensure businesses in Scotland get the help they need.

“We understand the concerns of businesses unable to access the Strategic Framework Business Fund and that is why we are doubling the Local Authority Discretionary Fund to £120 million. This will further enable councils to respond to local economic needs and support businesses in their area.”