COVID-19 taxi and private hire driver support fund: FOI release

Information requested

How much Covid Funding was allocated to Glasgow taxi drivers?
How many received the funding?
Why £5m was sent back from GCC What was the £5m then spent on?

Response

For your convenience, we have broken down your request as follows:

1) How much Covid Funding was allocated to Glasgow taxi drivers?

Glasgow City Council was allocated £11,953,386.20 for the Taxi and Private Hire Driver Support Fund. For the driver element of the Taxi and Private Hire Driver and Operator Support Fund, Glasgow City Council was allocated £6,993,000.

2) How many received the funding?

As of 25 June 2021, 4,663 drivers in Glasgow City Council’s area received funding from the Taxi and Private Hire Driver Support Fund. As of 8 October 2021, 4668 drivers in Glasgow City Council’s area received funding from the driver element of the Taxi and Private Hire Driver and Operator Support Fund.

3) Why £5m was sent back

The original Taxi and Private Hire Driver Support Fund budget was based on an estimated 100% uptake by eligible drivers. Local authorities directly approached all private hire and taxi drivers to invite them to claim the £1,500 grant, and a range of sector stakeholders also helped to raise awareness. Unfortunately some drivers chose not to take up that offer.

4) What was the £5m then spent on

Initial Local Authority allocations for the taxi grants were based on estimates of number of eligible applicants in each local authority and were subject to revision when actual demand was known. Any eligible business who was successful in the application process received a grant. Any effective underspend from the difference between actual payments and the original estimate was repurposed to support wider Scottish Government actions to mitigate the impact of covid-19 and to support recovery.

Further information on this can be found in the Audit Scotland report here: Covid-19: Tracking the impact of Covid-19 on Scotland’s public finances | Audit Scotland (audit-scotland.gov.uk)

Throughout the pandemic the Scottish Government have had to make difficult decisions, targeting financial support to specific sectors and businesses most impacted by the Covid-19 restrictions. We can confirm that all consequentials received from UK government for business support have been passed onto businesses. The latest management information on covid business support paid out since the start of the pandemic can be found here: Coronavirus (COVID-19): business support funding statistics - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.