hire or reward’, and don’t have to pay any of the fees the trade has to pay, nor main- tain their vehicles to the same standard. The ones who have been nicking taxi and private hire work to the tune of millions of miles nationally every year doing hospital, social care and even school transport.
“Apparently most of them don’t want to risk catching Covid-19 and have stopped offering their services. Nice if you can afford not to work, but I suppose if you don’t have a council policy to adhere to and fees to pay… Anyway, that work has not been handed to the trade, but instead most of the people using their services have been told to make their own way to their appointments using whatever means they have. We have to ask: Did they need that transport in the first place? And how much was all that costing?”
As regards Chris’s own company situa- tion, he told us: “The work situation here is similar to that for most taxi drivers: it’s dried up, no nighttime economy, no schools, a few shoppers left so certainly not taking enough money to cover the costs of having the taxi parked on the drive.
“There is a lot in the news about help for the self-employed but I don’t think that will be with anyone any time soon. Mendip District Council has advised any- one unable to wait for Government money to apply for Universal Credit; this is not something I’ve done myself but I’ve been told it’s a nightmare to even get an online account, let alone get any money.
“Mendip Council has a taxi policy in place that was cut and pasted from every dis- trict and borough throughout the UK. It is not fit for purpose as we are a rural area and most of the districts from which the policy was pinched are massively popu- lated towns and cities.
“We have been told that policy cannot be altered, and it will take years to get changes through the various committees and consent from Councillors. And yet I note that with the stroke of a pen, vehicle tests due from April 2020 have been extended for six months; medical timings have also been extended for the same period. So I hope that when this dreadful situation is over we can keep that pen working and perhaps put a policy in place that is fit for the area we live in.”
52
COVID CONSCIOUS COMPANIES... WARRINGTON
Phil Bailey of Abba Taxis is one of the most ‘user-friendly’ NPHTA members we know – and he certainly didn’t let us down for our lockdown survey: he gave us a lot of background about his compa- ny in Warrington, and how it has been hit with drastically reduced business as have so many across the country. “We are around 75 per cent down on bookings currently and operating with myself and nine team members. A few work from home but some of the team want to attend the office so we all look after each other’s safety. We sit several desks apart and only permit the office team into the actual office areas. We have unfortunately had to furlough 11 staff.
“We have a call centre operation with Orion Call Centres in Islamabad with a team of eight full-time staff, who unfortu- nately went on immediate lockdown just as we did, so we lost that facility com- pletely. However, this happened at the same time as the major downturn so it had no real effect on us. We wish them and all our staff well, and look forward to having them up and running again as soon as we turn the corner.
“Warrington Council has been very help- ful and have staff available working from home. With regard to school contracts the council acted quite quickly and said they would pay us 80 per cent of the con- tracts that were running from 1st March but with the stipulation that we ensured the drivers got 80 per cent of their rate. They then said they would pay the full 100 per cent with the same stipulation, but would like us to be available for food par- cel and prescription runs. All our school run drivers were and are more than happy to do this, and we’ve had a great response from them and the people they deliver to.
“The council has also helped us with licens- ing/plating matters, such as waiving the
six-month vehicle test, self-declaration of medical condition, and allowing renewed vehicles to work and the proprietor can col- lect the plates once someone is available back in their office. I think we have been very fortunate and would like to thank War- rington Council for their positive approach.
“And of course we want to send all our heartfelt thanks to our NHS and Care Worker Heros!”We’ll go along with that…
WREXHAM
This is one of many Welsh councils that have made concessions to licence holders during the lockdown period. In the case of Wrexham they have stated that licence renewals for licences which are due to expire on or before 31 July 2020 must be made, but for “a licensed period of four months, with a pro rata payment”.
Similarly they have deferred the require- ment for new medical certificates for four months beyond the expiry of the most recent certificate, as long as the applicant provides a self-declaration. Further, with the face to face submission of DBS appli- cations having been deemed not appropriate, it is incumbent on the appli- cant to declare the absence of any convictions, cautions or fixed penalty notices since their last DBS.
Certificates of Compliance for HC and PHV for the same period will now no longer be required. Vehicle proprietors are advised that in light of MoT and CoC suspensions, they are responsible for keeping their vehicles safe and roadwor- thy. This of course is a standard caveat with most councils… except Corby, which evidently doesn’t trust their drivers to look after their vehicles. Mmmm…
NPHTA member Geth Thomas of Wrex- ham Chauffeurs Ltd told us: “As for how the lockdown is affecting me, I do feel vindicated in that, because I had an accountant for 2018-19 and filed my tax return on time, and paid what I owed, that has now come full circle and puts me in a much better position than some of my colleagues, who are really panicking.
“In a similar vein, this year I formed a limit- ed company, and I have my accountant run my payroll and pay me via the PAYE sys-
MAY 2020
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