STRUGGLING taxi drivers could be handed a £500,000 financial lifeline by Brighton and Hove City Council, if party leaders approve the latest round of Covid grants.

And a further £150,000 could bring some relief to nurseries and childminders, if three senior councillors back the plan at an urgent meeting tonight.

The Argus has reported that three taxi drivers in the city have died of coronavirus with cabbies struggling and some forced to use food banks.

READ MORE: Three Brighton and Hove taxi drivers die from coronavirus

A council report ahead of the meeting said: “The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic is being felt by the city’s private licenced private hire and hackney carriage drivers.

“With pubs, bars, venue, indoor entertainment closed, and people advised to stay at home, drivers have experienced a significant loss in turnover while still having to cover key business costs.

“As a public facing service, licensed taxi drivers are considered to be in a high risk group.

“A recent report by the Office for National Statistics showed that Covid-19 death rates among people in jobs such as taxi driving were up to three times higher than the national average.

“Licensed taxi drivers play an important role within the city and are making a significant contribution to the vaccination programme by, for example, transporting residents to their appointments.

“The proposal is for the negative impact on taxi drivers to be recognised with a specific grant award.

“The grant will be in relation to the fixed business costs that drivers incur for their taxi licence, insurance, vehicle maintenance and Covid-19 safety measures in this period.

“The proposal is for a one-off payment, on application, of between £250 and £400 to private hire and hackney carriage drivers licensed in Brighton and Hove.

“There are approximately 1,300 licensed private hire taxis in the city. The estimated cost of this award is between £325,000 and £520,000.”

READ MORE: Taxi drivers demand 'urgent' council meeting amid a 'catastrophic' loss of trade

Childcare providers may be able to claim payments of £3,000 if they have specific business premises or £750 if they do not.

By the end of last week, the council had paid grants totalling more than £25 million to businesses that had closed or faced other restrictions because of the pandemic.

The latest batch of grants, including any payments to cabbies and nurseries, is expected to amount to £8.4 million.

The grants are funded by the government which has set up a number of schemes, each with different rules and conditions.