MINISTERS are under fire for 'withholding' taxi support cash as drivers face a postcode lottery of support during the pandemic.
Unite Scotland is furious after it was told that the an underspend of £19m on the vital fund has been reallocated - despite an original mix up over who is eligible.
It is estimated around 25,333 eligible drivers out of an estimated 38,000 drivers across Scotland applied for the £1,500 grant.
It comes after the launch of the fund at the start of the year was branded "farcical" because it emerged that drivers on universal credit would not be able to apply.
It means that to date a third of all drivers in Scotland have not claimed the grant, raising questions about the levels of awareness regarding the fund.
Union leaders have strongly criticised the Scottish Government for 'withholding' the money stating that thousands of taxi drivers and operators will now be "left abandoned".
They said that without further national support from the Scottish Government, workers within the taxi trade face a ‘postcode lottery’ as most drivers across the country remain excluded from local authority discretionary schemes.
So far only a small number of local authority have announced specific ‘top-up' funds to help taxi drivers.
Local discretionary support has been agreed by the Aberdeen City Council through a £1,000 grant. Dundee City Council has also set a £1,000 grant for taxi and private hire drivers and in the Angus Council are they will get an additional £2,500 financial support grant on top of the initial £1,500 grant made available.
Some drivers have been forced to take out business loans to pay regular bills including council tax.
Taxi journeys had fallen significantly since the start of the pandemic, with union leaders claiming 80% of taxi drivers had lost up to three quarters of their usual incomes.
The £57m fund was launched in January, to help with taxi costs including licence fees and insurance payments for taxis not on the road.
But the Scottish government confirmed that not all drivers would benefit.
Those drivers who were already claiming state benefits - including Universal Credit, Statutory Sick Pay, Employment and Support Allowance, Job Seekers' Allowance or Income Support - between 17 March and 31 December 2020, or have applied for but not yet started receiving Universal Credit at the time of applying were designated as not eligible for the fund.
The Scottish government said there was risk that if the grant was paid to people on Universal Credit, it would count as income and result in a reduction in their benefits.
It then called on the Department for Work and Pensions to amend its criteria to ensure that drivers on Universal Credit can benefit from the full £1,500 payment.
But the DWP said the Scottish government was being "misleading" and "has significant welfare powers" of its own.
Following the furiore and within 24 hours, ministers agreed that those receiving state benefits at any time since March last year would be eligible.
At the time of the launch, while taxis were still allowed to operate despite the lockdown that was in place, they saw passenger numbers fall away as bars, restaurants and schools closed.
In announcing the grant, Finance Secretary Kate Forbes said: "We know how difficult this pandemic has been for taxi drivers and their families. They've truly gone the extra mile, continuing to provide a vital service for key workers and vulnerable individuals throughout the lockdown and beyond.
"Following the introduction of tighter regulations at Christmas I have trebled the budget originally announced for this fund to £57m, enough to provide grants of £1,500 to all of Scotland's 38,000 taxi and private hire drivers."
Unite Scotland said officials had told them there are no further plans for national help from the Scottish Government to drivers and operators within the taxi trade.
They are now demanding that the fund be re-opened to allow those most in need within the trade to be able to reapply for an additional grant.
Based on the numbers of drivers who have claimed from the Fund, this would allow a further top-up grant of around £750 to each driver from the £57 million Fund.
Pat Rafferty, Unite Scottish secretary, said: “Despite the tentative easing of lockdown restrictions, the taxi trade remains decimated by the pandemic and will be one of the last trades to recover. Taxi operators and drivers are desperate for help, and the withholding of around £19 million is a disgrace.
"At every turn the Scottish Government has been dragged kicking and screaming into giving support to the taxi trade, which is in crisis. We are demanding that the Taxi and Private Hire Driver Support Fund be re-opened to allow an additional top-up grant from this central pot of cash. The reality is that there is a postcode lottery in terms of the levels of support for the trade.
"Urgent and immediate help is required before thousands of businesses become unsustainable. For many people taxis are a vital part of the transport network but without help many will not survive the covid crisis.”
An online survey of over 200 taxi drivers released in December 2020 by Unite Scotland highlighted that many drivers are regularly working 16-17-hour days with a shift being determined as having been ‘good’ if £50 is cleared.
The survey also showed that 30% of drivers have been unable to access any financial help from government support schemes. For those that have been able to access financial help from government the biggest group (37%) reported that it represents less than 25% of their average earnings.
In mid-December, taxi drivers mounted a protest at the Scottish Parliament to help assure the survival of an industry that dates back a century.
Concerns about the trade's future emerged as at that point nearly one in three had been unable to get financial support from government support schemes.
As self-employed workers, many cabbies had been entitled to benefit from the Self Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS), however the grant focussed heavily on the driver profits. The high operating costs involved in running a licensed taxi meant many had been struggling to find enough work to tide them over until the pandemic passes.
The Scottish Government was approached for comment.
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