SCOTLAND’S cabbies who are financially struggling due to the coronavirus crisis may not be able to access lifeline grants, it has been revealed.

A loophole means that those who have previously claimed benefits are ineligible to receive a new, one-off grant of £1500.

A union that represents the industry has blasted the system as “disgraceful” as they claimed the poorest of drivers are being “discriminated against”.

The Scottish Government hit back – saying the UK’s Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) needed to amend Universal Credit.

Unite Scottish Secretary Pat Rafferty said: “The trade has been afforded minimal support by the Scottish Government to date and what has been offered has been too little and too late.

“The new monies announced actually do nothing for those taxi drivers who have been hit the hardest and had to claim benefits such as Universal Credit because they will be ineligible.”

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Unite Scotland said it has been “inundated” with reports from taxi drivers stating that because of collapsed earnings, they have had no choice but to apply for benefits.

Mr Rafferty added: “The poorest are being discriminated against which is disgraceful. The support for taxi drivers is also not as generous as in Northern Ireland or in Wales where the respective administrations have acted in a speedier fashion to address the major challenges facing the trade.”

The one-off grant was announced by the Scottish Government on Monday in an effort to help taxi and private hire drivers affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

Local authorities in Scotland are to directly approach around 38,000 drivers, inviting them to claim the funding to help with fixed costs.

A Glasgow Taxis spokesman said: “We are upset that some drivers – who may have been so affected by the unprecedented circumstances in 2020 that they had no option but to claim Universal Credit – are unable to access this fund.

“Further, it is unfair that businesses and owners who have not qualified for any previous support are not eligible for this funding either.

“An additional issue is the fact that some drivers who have temporarily changed to other jobs, such as in supermarkets or the NHS, will benefit from the fund while operators cannot benefit from the fund and may not be able to continue with taxi loans, insurance, fixed costs and no drivers.”

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “Universal Credit payments reduce as a person’s income increases so we are concerned that any payment would simply be deducted from an applicant’s benefits. Without a change, making these payments would benefit the DWP, not the drivers.

“We are calling on the DWP to amend their criteria to ensure that drivers on Universal Credit can benefit from the full £1500 payment – if they make that change we will amend our criteria.”

A DWP spokesman said: “This is misleading. Scotland has significant welfare powers and can top-up existing benefits, pay discretionary payments and create entirely new benefits in areas of devolved responsibility.

"Meanwhile, the UK Government has provided an additional £8.6bn in funding to the Scottish Government to tackle the pandemic in Scotland.”