IN THE NEWS...IN THE NEWS.. TAXI DRIVERS FACE ‘FINANCIAL RUIN’


WITHOUT GOVERNMENT HELP, SAYS ELTHAM MP


The MP for Eltham has written to the Transport Minister urging him to take measures to save taxi drivers from “financial ruin,” and even temporarily re-employ them to assist the NHS. According to the News


Shopper,


Clive Efford MP said he has been contacted by taxi drivers in his con- stituency in south east London who are “in distress” as their business has completely “dried up” due to the lockdown. For the majority,


work has been so severely reduced that income is fail- ing to even cover operating costs, and many are “anticipating the collapse of their business.” The Government has acknowledged and pledged to help with some of the problems faced by


the self-


employed during the lockdown, but these workers face up to three months without any pay and are struggling to feed families. The MP is now call- ing on the Minister


MP for Eltham Clive Efford


for Transport Grant Shapps to ensure these workers, including 82,000 UK taxi drivers, are


properly supported so they can stay on the road. In a letter to the Department for


Transport, Mr Efford says that whilst he supports the Government’s Covid-19 lockdown, the measures have “severely impacted the livelihood of many self-employed people” who are currently in finan- cial hardship and face ruin. In the letter, Mr Efford recommends that emergency in- terim payments are made, wages are supported straight away and running costs such as licence plate fees and rental fees are suspended.


“Even more impor- tantly, the Govern- ment must look to the taxi industry as part of the solution to this crisis, not part of the prob- lem.”


Mr Efford states that taxi drivers should be sub-con- tracted out to perform a number of tasks, including transporting pat- ients to and from emergency ap- pointments, deliv- ering shopping to the elderly and transporting NHS and care staff to work and testing centres.


54


MAY 2020


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