Scottish taxi drivers, hairdressers and tourism operators who have lost out because of covid restrictions are to be compensated from a £55 million pot of cash.
Nicola Sturgeon, the First Minister, confirmed the extra business support would be made available through local councils when she delivered her covid update to the virtual session of the Scottish parliament on Wednesday.
Sturgeon detailed the breakdown of the support, saying: “Up to £28 million will be allocated to taxi and private hire drivers and operators, £19 million will support services such as beauticians and hairdressers, £5 million will be provided for sport, and an additional £3 million for tourism.”
The money comes on top of the £200 million of a total of £375 million of support the government plans to businesses affected by covid.
Glasgow taxi and private hire drivers protested in the city centre last week over the industry’s “total exclusion” from Covid-related business support.
The “sit in” blocked George Square and surrounding streets from around 10am on Wednesday 29th in what drivers said was an attempt to get their message across to the Scottish Government as stricter restrictions were brought back to curb the rise of omicron cases.
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