Agenda item - Chair's Communications

Covid 19 Update – Taxi Operators Across the City

21.1    The Chair, Councillor Deane, explained that Officers would be providing an update on the current Covid situation and she felt sure that everyone would be relieved to see there that there appeared to be light at the end of the tunnel, particularly with the roll out of the vaccine programme and gradual easing of restrictions. Even so, there was still a long way to go before people would be jumping into taxis with the same level of confidence as pre-pandemic.

21.2    Members we were acutely aware of the hardship that this situation had had on the city’s taxi drivers. Although many of them would have been eligible for government support through their self-employed status, there were also a significant number who had not been able to access this, so she was pleased to be able to report that officers in the Licensing and Finance teams had been working on this, with the result that grants totalling an estimate of up to £520k were being made available to support our cabbies.The scheme had gone live on Monday of that weekand it was understood that to date nearly 900 applications had been received for the one-off payment of £400.

21.2    The Chair stated that she would also like to extend her thanks and those of the Committee to all the local taxi drivers who had been taking part in the Cabs for Jabs initiative which had been giving free journeys to and from vaccination centres for elderly and vulnerable residents. This act of generosity went beyond the call of duty and had been much appreciated across the city.

21.3    RESOLVED – That the content of the Chair’s Communications be noted and received.