Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:08 pm on 23 February 2021.
Well, Llywydd, I thank Jenny Rathbone. I want to join her in paying tribute to the work of taxi drivers here in Cardiff, who've worked so hard to be able to support those foodbanks. She and I—and I'm sure many other Members in the Senedd today—have significant numbers of taxi drivers who live in our constituencies, and the pandemic hit them really hard—really hard. I'm very glad that our discretionary funds particularly have had an impact on the sector. Cardiff Council, as of Friday last week, had approved over 2,700 discretionary grants to those with the stated occupation of 'taxi driver', worth over £5 million. And the latest round—the £30 million announced on the fifth of this month—will provide a further £2,000 grant for self-employed taxi drivers.
The modernisation of the fleet is a real challenge for them. It's why we have been very glad to develop a number of green taxi pilot schemes in the Cardiff capital region, in Pembrokeshire and in Denbighshire, to allow drivers to use zero-emission vehicles on a free try-before-you-buy basis. Fifty taxis are being purchased, with 30 days for a taxi drivers to use them free of charge, in the hope that that will stimulate demand within the sector for the sort of transport that Jenny Rathbone has very long championed. We're looking, as a Government, at options for grants, leasing arrangements and so on, so that we can stimulate the appetite for that sort of provision. We'll be there to support the sector in that, as well.