After Making It Almost Impossible For Workers To Return To Their Offices Through LTN Road Closures And Bus Gates, The CoL Now Calls On Government For Return To Office Plan

The City of London Corporation has called for the government to set out a back-to-work plan to allow staff to get back to their offices as soon as possible. But to be honest, who wants to work in a massive building site that once was the Jewel in the crown of world finance. 

Responding to today’s new guidelines for the winter period, the Square Mile’s governing body said it was vital that businesses were given a “clear plan” in order to get the economy going again. Well we T Taxi Leaks have come up with a perfect plan....remove all restrictions and let’s get London moving again.

“Today’s announcement of a COVID-19 Winter Plan is welcome and it is good to have clarity on the arrangements for the festive period and into the new year”, said policy chair Catherine McGuinness.

“However, what we also urgently need from the government is a clear plan to allow office workers to return to Covid-secure workplaces in order to get as much of the economy operating as possible.

“This is vital to protect livelihoods.  We also need a thriving economy to help pay for the vast amount of support being provided at this time.”

Unfortunately, under the rules announced today, people will still be asked to work from home where it is possible for them to do so.

With the new restrictions set to stay in place until March, many employees will have gone a whole year without setting foot in their workplace.

However, the recent announcements that a number of vaccines have proved effective against the disease have boosted hopes that a return to normality might come sooner than expected.

Recent research from consultancy Arup (remember them from the Garden Bridge fiasco, who head hunted the deputy mayor Isabel  Deadring) found that the effective rollout of a vaccine could inject £41bn into London’s economy and save tens of thousands of jobs.

McGuinness went on to say: 

“With reports of a coming vaccine it seems there is finally light at the end of the tunnel, but in the meantime Londoners should continue to act responsibly by complying with the new rules in order to reduce transmission, save lives and protect the NHS.”

TAXI LEAKS EXTRA BIT : 

We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again :

Licence renewals are now more often than not, a total nightmare... and they shouldn’t be.  

If a driver has had a licence or in many cases, multiple licenses, then renewing every three years should be a breeze. But as most drivers know, this is not the case. 

When renewing your DVLA driving licence, most transactions are completed in just days, while a Taxi drivers licence takes (in my own particular case on the last renewal) up to five months. 

Yes there are some that are renewed in a few weeks but this is not the norm. 

Once you’ve had you statutory DBS check and if required, a medical, then it should be automatic. But then this is TfL and nothing is simple and obstacle free with TPH. The Taxi and Private Hire licensing department is woefully inadequate and needs a complete overhaul.