17 March 2020
The Rt Hon Rishi Sunak MP Chancellor of the Exchequer HM Treasury
1 Horse Guards Road London SW1A 2HQ
Dear Mr Sunak
I am writing to you as the General Secretary of the United Cabbies Group on behalf of our members to ask you to urgently announce the range of measures the Government propose to implement for self-employed sole traders.
London’s Taxis have been seen on the streets of the capital since the 17th Century. In 1654, an Act of Parliament was passed making taxi driving a profession.
Thisprofessionismaintainedbytheinfamous ‘Knowledge of London’. Introduced as a requirement in 1865, the Knowledge spurred social mobility, allowing working class people to find solace and pride in a trade that encompassed London.
As you will appreciate the Government advice to travel only if necessary, alongside the decision by the Prime Minister yesterday which resulted in the closure of theatres and other key hospitality venues has had a significant impact on our members who now face an unprecedented drop in demand and ultimately income.
This comes on the back of a challenging period over the past weeks due to large numbers of Londoner’s being encouraged to work from home and many organisations avoiding all but essential business travel.
We acknowledge these are unprecedented times and our trade has been swift to act; taxi proprietors and suppliers began contacting drivers to pass on significant reductions in taxi rents and servicing where this was possible to do on Sunday evening.
Some drivers have been able to secure payment breaks for a short period of time and the 3-month mortgage holiday will help others. The HMRC offer of time to pay will provide some support.
Whilst each of the 20,000 drivers runs a de facto individual business, we have no commercial premises as our taxis ply for hire on the streets of London but we have had the same or greater impact on our trade as those faced by small businesses and the tourism/hospitality sectors we service.
We have significantly high costs to operate our business due to the conditions of fitness we are required to work within, yet we have been excluded from the £3,000 cash grant you propose to grant to 700,000 small businesses. The extension of this grant to the taxi trade would be a financial lifeline
The announcements to date do not go far enough for self-employed taxi drivers who make a significant contribution annually to HMRC.
The lack of action at this stage will leave our members and their families with no income and unable to meet their financial commitments.
This is not acceptable, and time is not on our side. Action to rectify this hardship is urgently required.
I request to meet with you as soon as possible to discuss what emergency action the Government can take to ensure taxi drivers and their families are fully supported in these exceptionally difficult times.
Please contact me on 020 7100 5206 to arrange a meeting to discuss this urgent issue. Yours sincerely
Trevor Merralls
General Secretary
United Cabbies Group
Trevor Merralls also wrote an open letter addressed to the Secretary of State for Health Matt Hancock MP
"Dear Mr Hancock
"I am writing to you as the General Secretary of the United Cabbies Group on behalf of our members to ask you to give serious consideration to the way in which London Taxis can be effectively utilised as part of the range of measures the Government propose to implement for Covid-19.
"As referenced in the Coronavirus Bill temporary legislation which focuses on dealing with easing of the burden on frontline NHS and adult social care staff London’s longest serving public transport provider, London Taxis, are still operating and can provide a fully inclusive and accessible door to door service which can be utilised to act and support the emergency services to deliver people, medicine and other necessities.
"Some of the proposed changes as referenced in the Coronavirus Bill temporary legislation focus on dealing with easing the burden on frontline NHS and adult social care staff, and some support people and communities in taking care of themselves, their families and loved ones, and their wider community.
"Similar to the Royal Mail’s position, the London Taxi Trade is well positioned in view of our purpose built vehicle where the partition can be clinically sealed, our unique training and enhanced vetting to support essential public services, provide a link to deliveries to the elderly, vulnerable and those self-isolating in and around London is this unprecedented crisis.
"Sanitisation is being carried out by drivers to ensure a safe clean environment for the travelling public and with a significant downturn in workload due to the Government’s advice on self-isolation and social distancing, are uniquely placed to play our role and Londoner’s where we can.
"As you will appreciate the Government advice to travel only if necessary, alongside the decision by the Prime Minister yesterday which resulted in the closure of theatres and other key hospitality venues has had a significant impact on our members who now face an unprecedented drop in demand and ultimately income.
"Yours sincerely
Trevor Merralls
General Secretary
United Cabbies Group"
TAXI LEAKS EXTRA BIT : from Frank Bullit
Now the NHS Is under unprecedented pressure and stress due to the Corvid19 virus,
some people are saying, all those who use
TAX Avoiding corporate’s like UBER... have played their part in undermining revenues which could have been used for the current NHS emergency
TAX AVOIDANCE COSTS LIVES
BUT IN MIDST OF ALL THIS BAD NEWS, THERE IS SOME REALKY GOOD NEWS OUT THERE
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