Mayor announces massive expansion of scrappage scheme to all Londoners

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, will today say expanding the ULEZ London-wide was a difficult decision but that he remains committed to pushing ahead on 29 August in order to save lives, protect children’s lungs and tackle the climate emergency.

The Mayor will say he is not prepared to step back, delay or water down the ULEZ policy. With toxic air damaging the health of millions of Londoners and the need to tackle the climate crisis, Sadiq believes that the cost of inaction would simply be far too high a price to pay.

Air pollution in London is an urgent health crisis, which can’t be solved later down the line. It’s responsible for around 4,000 premature deaths in the capital each year and is leading children to grow up with stunted lungs and adults to develop a whole host of illnesses - from asthma to heart disease, cancer and dementia.

The ULEZ is a highly targeted scheme that aims to take the most polluting vehicles off London’s roads. 90 per cent of cars seen driving in outer London on an average day are already compliant.

However, after listening to the concerns of Londoners over recent months and the impact of the growing cost-of-living crisis, the Mayor will announce today that to make the transition to a greener city easier the scrappage scheme will be massively widened to every Londoner affected by ULEZ along with a host of other significant changes. This means from Monday, 21 August:

Every Londoner with a non ULEZ-compliant car will be eligible for a £2,000 grant Small businesses and sole traders will be able to receive up to £21,000 in grants to scrap up to three vans

Charities will be able to receive up to £27,000 in grants to scrap up to three minibuses Also from today, Friday 4 August:

Small businesses and charities with a non-compliant van will receive increased payments of £7,000 (up from £5,000).

Grants for Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles will increase from £5,000 to £10,000.

Grants for scrapping Minibuses will increase from £7,000 to £9,000.

Grants to Replace a non-compliant van with electric van increase from £7,500 to £9,500.

Grants to replace a non-compliant minibus with an electric minibus increase from £9,500 to £11,500.

Retrofit grants increase from £5k to £6k, typically enough to cover the whole cost of retrofitting.

This will bring the total amount the Mayor has invested in the latest scrappage scheme to £160m, and, in addition to the £60m previously invested in the scrappage scheme, would be the most generous scrappage scheme ever seen in the UK. The scrappage scheme will be available on a first come first serve basis, with low income and disabled Londoners having already had seven months to apply.

Car and motorcycle scrappage funds were initially prioritised for low-income and disabled Londoners to ensure those that needed it most had early access to support. Since then, the Mayor has listened to Londoners and announced in early June the fund would be expanded it to families receiving child benefit.

The Mayor has also listened to small businesses who said they needed more financial help to purchase ULEZ-compliant, less-polluting vans. As part of today’s announcement the grant per van will be raised from £5,000 to £7,000 and the number of vans or minibuses small businesses and sole traders can scrap will increase to three meaning small businesses could get £21,000 for a greener fleet.

Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “I have always said that expanding the ULEZ to the whole of London was a difficult decision, and not one I took lightly – but it’s a decision I remain committed to seeing through.

“As we continue to build a greener and healthier London for everyone, I’m determined that no Londoner and no London business is left behind. We need to take people with us on the path to a sustainable future. We are ensuring that help is now available for everyone and I urge Londoners to come and get it.”

By Mark Adair – Correspondent, Bdaily

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