£300 grant for Peterborough taxi drivers ‘not good enough’ - Labour insists

Peterborough City Council announced recently that it will be amending its Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) Scheme to give the one-off payments, a move welcomed by Conservative MP for Peterborough Paul Bristow.

But Cllr Amjad Iqbal, shadow cabinet member for communities, said he has lobbied council directors to increase the funding grant available for drivers and to consider suspending licence fees for the next year due to “mounting crippling debt” for many drivers during the pandemic.

Cllr Iqbal said: “Other councils in this region have offered drivers a substantial support package and Peterborough needs to do the same. The taxi trade is fundamental to the running of our city and we know that we will be calling on them to help us rebuild after Covid. They deserve more support from the council.

“These are small businesses that have a huge amount of running costs already. We should be following the likes of Bedford Borough Council in freezing the license fee for this year as a result of the drop in trade for taxis over the course of the pandemic. People have invested in licenses that they have not been able to use.

“The meagre £300 grant from this Conservative administration is just not good enough. If Luton council are offering their drivers a £500 payment I do not understand why Peterborough council are choosing not to do the same. Peterborough’s small businesses deserve better than this.”