The Government has announced several measures available to UK businesses, including the taxi and private hire sector, to support them through this challenging time, and launched a ‘support finder’ tool to help businesses and self-employed workers quickly and easily determine what financial support is available to them during the coronavirus pandemic.

From 2 December, councils in England in Tier 2 and Tier 3 will receive funding to provide grants to closed businesses and to be able to run local discretionary grant schemes to provide support to affected businesses. These allocations will be published shortly and are in addition to the £2.3bn already provided to local councils since the start of the pandemic. The Local Authority administers the scheme and determines on a case-by-case basis where to allocate this funding.

The Greening Government Commitments are designed to improve the environmental sustainability of the Government’s estates and operations. We are progressing the development of the new framework for 2021-25 and aim to publish new commitments in spring 2021.

The new framework will ensure the public estate continues to reduce its environmental footprint, align with commitments in our 25 Year Environment Plan and be consistent with a trajectory to achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. As part of this, we are exploring a range of measures aimed at reducing the environmental impact of government travel, including through increasing the use of low- or zero-emission transport options by Government officials.

The Government recognises the difficulties those working in the taxi and private hire vehicle sector face during the pandemic. The Department has maintained close contact with representatives from the taxi and private hire vehicle trade throughout the pandemic, including those representing local authorities responsible for the licensing of the taxi and private hire vehicle sector. Local authorities are best placed to understand local demand and driver need and we are aware that some local authorities are supporting the sector.

From 2 December councils in England in Tier 2 and Tier 3 will receive funding to provide grants to closed businesses (Local Restriction Support Grants) and to be able to run local discretionary grant schemes to provide support to affected businesses. These allocations will be published shortly and are in addition to the £2.3bn already provided to local councils since the start of the pandemic. The Local Authority administers the scheme and determines on a case-by-case basis where to allocate this funding.

This is a challenging time for many sectors and individuals, including taxi drivers. In response to the second national lockdown, the Chancellor announced that the next Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) grant, which covers the period from November to January, will increase to 80% of average profits, up to £7,500.

The SEISS continues to be just one element of a substantial package of support for the self-employed, and those ineligible for the SEISS Grant Extension may still be eligible for other elements of the support available. The Universal Credit standard allowance has been temporarily increased for 2020-21 and the Minimum Income Floor relaxed for the duration of the crisis, so that where self-employed claimants' earnings have fallen significantly, their Universal Credit award will have increased to reflect their lower earnings. They may also have access to other elements of the package, including Bounce Back loans, tax deferrals, rental support, mortgage holidays, self-isolation support payments and other business support grants.

More widely, the Government uses the tax system to encourage the uptake of vehicles with low carbon dioxide emissions to help meet the UK’s legally binding climate change targets. Since April 2019, purpose built zero-emission capable taxis have been exempted from the Vehicle Excise Duty expensive car supplement. At Budget 2020, the Government also announced that First Year Allowances on purchases of zero-emission business cars, including zero-emission taxis, will remain available until at least March 2025. Businesses hiring zero-emission cars also retain the ability to set 100% of rental costs against taxable profits.

This is a challenging time for many sectors and individuals, including taxi drivers. In response to the second national lockdown, the Chancellor announced that the next Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) grant, which covers the period from November to January, will increase to 80% of average profits, up to £7,500.

The SEISS continues to be just one element of a substantial package of support for the self-employed, and those ineligible for the SEISS Grant Extension may still be eligible for other elements of the support available. The Universal Credit standard allowance has been temporarily increased for 2020-21 and the Minimum Income Floor relaxed for the duration of the crisis, so that where self-employed claimants' earnings have fallen significantly, their Universal Credit award will have increased to reflect their lower earnings. They may also have access to other elements of the package, including Bounce Back loans, tax deferrals, rental support, mortgage holidays, self-isolation support payments and other business support grants.

More widely, the Government uses the tax system to encourage the uptake of vehicles with low carbon dioxide emissions to help meet the UK’s legally binding climate change targets. Since April 2019, purpose built zero-emission capable taxis have been exempted from the Vehicle Excise Duty expensive car supplement. At Budget 2020, the Government also announced that First Year Allowances on purchases of zero-emission business cars, including zero-emission taxis, will remain available until at least March 2025. Businesses hiring zero-emission cars also retain the ability to set 100% of rental costs against taxable profits.

What assessment he has made of the effect of the covid-19 outbreak on taxi and private hire vehicle drivers.

I acknowledge that this is an exceptionally challenging time for the industry, and the hon. Gentleman is absolutely right to continue to raise that point. We continue to engage with the sector to understand how there may be some assistance. I particularly draw his attention to the fact that there is an online support finder tool that will assist those in the difficulty that he refers to.

With over 350,000 licensed taxi and private hire drivers, this is the biggest employment group in the transport sector. As we speak, in London, electric cabs, which we all welcome, are being handed back because of inflexible finance deals. In every constituency, there will be hundreds of drivers laying up their vehicles. There are private tragedies going on here. What impact assessment have the Government actually done and when are they going to act?

The Government continue to engage with the sector to understand the effects of the covid-19 outbreak. Several support measures are available to support them through this challenging time, such as the self-employment income support scheme.

The Department has supported the taxi and private hire vehicle sector to transition to lower emission vehicles. The Plug-In Taxi Grant offers up to £7,500 off the price of eligible purpose-built taxis, this has supported over 3,800 taxis in London, and increasing numbers in towns and cities across the UK. The Plug-In Car Grant of up to £3,000 is available for those switching to eligible vehicles that do not meet the requirements of the Plug-In Taxi Grant.

Recognising the need for continued support in this area, at the March 2020 Budget the Government announced a further £129.5 million to extend the plug-in Grants for vans, taxis and motorcycles; £403 million for the Plug-In Taxi Grant to 2022-23 and that all zero emission cars would be exempt from the Vehicle Excise Duty supplement.

The Department has had no discussions with Network Rail regarding refunds or price reductions for taxi permits. Whilst the Department has not had discussions with train operating companies on specific proposals for refunds or price reductions, several have raised potential financial support to taxi drivers accessing railway stations at this time. The Department is considering its policy in this area.

The information requested is not available.

Taxi and private hire vehicle drivers are part of the “Transportation and Storage” sector.

225,000 self-employed individuals in the Transportation and Storage sector claimed the first SEISS grant and 212,000 claimed the second SEISS grant.

These figures were taken from the SEISS statistics published on 21 August and 22 October respectively.

The third SEISS grant is not yet open for claims and is due to open from 30 November 2020.

The Government appreciates this is a challenging time for many sectors and individuals, including taxi and private hire drivers. With the resurgence of the virus and tightening of restrictions to protect people's health, we have taken further steps to protect jobs and businesses.

The Chancellor announced on 5 November the next income support grant which covers the period November to January, will now increase to 80% of average profits, up to £7,500. This will provide vital financial support to the roughly 80% of taxi and private hire drivers who are self-employed.

Drivers who are employed will benefit from an extension of the furlough scheme to the end of March. The government will continue to help pay people’s wages, up to 80% of the normal amount.

The Government has acted to support those that are self-employed and have been affected by the COVID-19 outbreak across all sectors of the economy. The overwhelming majority of taxi and private hire vehicle drivers are self-employed and can therefore apply for a grant through the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS).

The overall level of the third SEISS grant has been increased to 80 per cent of average trading profits, meaning that the maximum grant available has now increased to £7,500. This will provide an estimated £7.3bn of support to the self-employed through November to January alone, with a further grant to follow covering February to April. This places the SEISS among the most generous schemes for the self-employed in the world.

Those ineligible for financial support under the SEISS may still be eligible for other elements of the unprecedented financial support available. The Government has temporarily increased the Universal Credit standard allowance for 2020-21 and relaxed the Minimum Income Floor for the duration of the crisis meaning that where self-employed claimants' earnings have significantly reduced, their Universal Credit award will have increased to reflect their lower earnings. In addition to this they may also be able to access other elements of the package, including Bounce Back loans, tax deferrals, rental support, mortgage holidays, self-isolation support payments and other business support grants.

The Government has published ‘Coronavirus (COVID-19): safer transport guidance for operators’ on the safe provision of transport services during the pandemic; this is applicable to the taxi and private hire vehicle (PHV) trade.

The Government has acted to support those that are self-employed and have been affected by the COVID-19 outbreak across all sectors of the economy. The overwhelming majority of taxi and PHV drivers are self-employed and can therefore apply for grants through the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme which has been extended to April 2021. Over the first three rounds of the scheme, up to £21,570 will have been made available. HMRC will provide details of the final grant, to cover the period from February, in due course. The Department is in regular contact with sector representatives to discuss their concerns and will consider ways in which further appropriate support might be provided.

The Government has acted to support those that are self-employed and have been affected by the COVID-19 outbreak across all sectors of the economy. The overwhelming majority of taxi and PHV drivers are self-employed and can therefore apply for grants through the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS). Over the first three rounds of the scheme a total of up to £19,410 has been made available to those eligible. A further grant will cover a three-month period from the start of February 2021 until the end of April 2021. HMRC will review the level of the second grant and set this in due course.

Taxi and PHV drivers may also be eligible for Universal Credit, from 6 April the standard allowance available under the Universal Credit system was increased from £317.82 to £409.89 a month. In addition, the Universal Credit calculation was amended, no longer using an assumed level of earnings (Minimum Income Floor) but actual earnings.

The Secretary of State has no plans to recommend to railway station taxi permit providers that they offer refunds or reductions for those who purchased taxi permits in 2020.