Glasgow Conservative councillors are calling on the SNP administration to provide additional cash grants to drivers in the taxi and private hire trade.

The call comes after other local authorities including Aberdeen City Council announced funding worth £860,000 overall to support taxi drivers, with an additional £1,000 of automatic top up grant funding.

Dundee City Council and Angus Council have also expanded support provided by the Scottish Government’s Private Hire Support Fund.

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That fund closed on March 25, despite only granting funding to less than two-thirds of eligible drivers and spending 57 per cent of its budget.

Glasgow Conservative councillor Thomas Kerr commented: “I continue to be inundated with correspondence from taxi drivers in Glasgow who are in a state of desperation. Their income has been completely decimated over the last year.

“If other local authorities elsewhere in Scotland can give extra funding to our taxi drivers, then that should be the case in Glasgow. I find it appalling that there has been radio silence from the SNP Leader of the Council on this matter and officials are saying they can’t do anything.

“They underspent the original funding by £5 million and I am simply not satisfied with the response I’ve received. Taxi drivers will simply not find it credible we are telling them we can’t provide further support when other councils have found the political will to do so."

 In an email response to Councillor Kerr, the Council’s Business Support Team stated that taxi drivers are not eligible for additional discretionary funding but that the Council are continuing to lobby Scottish Government officials on the matter.

Councillor Kerr added: “I’m standing shoulder to shoulder with the Glasgow taxi trade in calling on our council leader to break her silence and to personally intervene in this matter to give the industry the additional support they desperately require.”

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Glasgow City Council says it is fully aware of the challenges facing taxi and private hire drivers and they have introduced a wide range of licensing measures that have eased the burden on the taxi trade during the covid pandemic.

A spokesman said: “When the national Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Driver fund was open for applications, Glasgow also allocated £6.96m to drivers in the city.

“Eligibility for the Discretionary Fund was recently agreed at committee and focused on city centre businesses, topping up grants for those who had been previously supported by the hardship fund and seeking new applications for the hardship fund.

“We are in regular contact with the Scottish Government and if further dedicated funding for taxi and private hire drivers becomes available, we will ensure it is distributed as quickly as possible.”