Stoke-on-Trent taxi drivers urged to apply for £500 support grant
- Michael Murphy
- Mar 16, 2021
- 1 min read
Stoke-on-Trent City Council is urging taxi drivers to apply for its £500 COVID-19 support grant funding, which opened to applicants on Monday 15 March.
A spokesperson for the council has said they fully understand that hackney carriage and private hire drivers have been “severely affected by the crisis through the loss of trade due to lockdown and associated restrictions“. Financed through the Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) fund, a grant is now available for taxi drivers that are licensed with Stoke-on-Trent City Council and eligible applicants will receive the one-off payment.
Applicants must be able to show:
they currently hold a taxi licence and have held this for a minimum of 3 months
their licence is held with Stoke-on-Trent City Council
they have not already received a grant payment.
Council leader Abi Brown said: “Taxi and private hire drivers have been hit extremely hard by the coronavirus pandemic. The trade provides an invaluable service for those without transport or where public transport does not meet an individual’s needs in Stoke-on-Trent. Many have provided a vital service to residents during the pandemic, providing transport to key workers and transporting resident to hospital appointments and vaccination centres.
“Many businesses across the city have already benefited from the ARG grants, and we now want as many taxi drivers as possible to be able to benefit. I encourage all that think they may be eligible to check the criteria on our website and apply.”
Taxi drivers are encouraged to check the criteria and apply via: www.stoke.gov.uk/businessgrants. Applications are open until Monday 29 March.
