Councillor calls for suspension of Edinburgh taxi licence fees

A city councillor has backed urgent fresh calls from union bosses to suspend taxi licence fees in Edinburgh.

Cllr Lezley Marion Cameron

Union bosses have issued a desperate plea to Edinburgh City Council to allow drivers to defer licence fees, after it emerged that a new taxi support fund will be refused to drivers who are on Universal Credit.

In March last year the council put civic, taxi and private hire car licence fees on hold for a three-month period, following the covid-19 outbreak.

Councillor Lezley Marion Cameron has backed calls for the city council to look at the suspension of vehicle fees again, amid growing fears that drivers could be forced to close their business.

It comes as Unite warn those hardest hit by the pandemic – up to seventy per cent of drivers across Scotland – will miss out on a new £1500 one-off grant launched on Monday by the Scottish government.

This week the Evening News revealed that some struggling drivers have taken out business loans to pay regular bills, including their council tax.

Unite regional organiser Jacqueline Dunn said: “I wrote to the council on 5 Jan asking for a suspension of licence fees to give drivers a chance to catch up with their mounting bills and debts. I’ve had no response. It’s so unfair. Most of the drivers left on the road are owner operators and they have a huge burden of overheads but little to no help, while passenger numbers have dropped.”

Labour member councillor Cameron said: “It saddens me to hear that drivers are in the position of needing to take out business loans to pay their council tax. I’m extremely concerned that if support tails off while covid-19 restrictions continue, drivers will be falling into poverty and unemployment. The guidance on who is eligible for this new fund isn't clear and is going to delay it getting to those most in need of the help. The Scottish Government and councils need to look at ways we can properly support drivers. We need financial help to be quick and easy to get out the door.”

"As a council we have an obligation to help taxi drivers and small businesses to survive. They invest in the city and it’s aims. The regulations from the council for low emissions means many have invested in new vehicles to comply. That's a big cost to be kept up. We can’t lose sight of that. I think we need to be looking again at suspending licence fees and any other potential measures to keep the trade going, including looking at levelling the playing field for black cabs while private hire vehicle licences are uncapped. I will take up these measures with colleagues at the council this week.”

Councillor Catherine Fullerton, Regulatory Convener, said: “There has been regular contact with the trade throughout the pandemic and we recognised the financial pressures on the trade as soon as lockdown began last March. In recognition of this council took the decision to defer the payment of the taxi and private hire car applications. Further deferment of payment unfortunately isn’t possible as we have to balance this with the cost of operating the licensing service and a decision was taken by the council at its Policy and Sustainability Committee in August to that affect.”

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