Sadiq Khan launches ULEZ scrappage scheme ahead of August zone expansion

Sadiq Khan’s controversial plans to extend London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone took a massive step closer today with the launch of a new £110million scrappage scheme.

It will provide financial support for those needing to ditch their older vehicles to avoid the £12.50-a-day ULEZ charge.

However, only private car drivers receiving low-income and disability benefits can apply.

For passenger cars, the scheme offers £2,000 towards their scrapping, while motorcyclists get £1,000 for offloading non-compliant older motorbikes.

ULEZ scrappage scheme launched: Only private car drivers living in the capital who receive low-income and disability benefits can apply to receive £2,000 to take their non-compliant motors off the road

The scheme, which opens to online applications today (30 January), is the next stepping stone towards the controversial 29 August ULEZ extension, which will see the emissions charging zone extended across all 32 boroughs in the capital.

Announcing the scheme today, Mr Khan said: ‘I took the difficult decision to expand the ULEZ because it will save lives, help tackle the climate crisis and reduce congestion. 

‘We have made huge progress in central and inner London but there is much more to do in outer London.

‘Clean air is a fundamental human right – and everyone deserves to breathe clean air including those in outer London. 

‘Around 4,000 Londoners are dying prematurely each year due to toxic air, with the greatest number of deaths attributable to air pollution in London’s outer boroughs. 

‘It is causing people to develop life-changing illnesses, such as cancer, lung disease, dementia and asthma, and leading to children growing up with stunted lungs.’

He went on: ‘We need to get the most highly polluting vehicles off our roads, which are damaging the health of all Londoners, including drivers. 

‘The rising cost of living has been a key consideration for me, which is why we are launching this new and improved scrappage scheme – the biggest ever – to help low-income and disabled Londoners, businesses, sole traders and charities switch to cleaner vehicles, or support them to make the most of other transport options.

‘The health of Londoners must come first and I know that expanding the ULEZ London-wide, alongside this £110m scrappage scheme, will help us to continue building a greener, fairer and healthier London for everyone.’

Mayor Sadiq Khan said today that the rising cost of living had been a ‘key consideration’ ahead of progressing with his plans for a ULEZ expansion but said ‘the health of Londoners must come first’

Londoners with no-compliant cars can apply for the £2,000 grant if they scrap their motors, or  to fund ‘retrofitting’ their vehicles with a Euro 6 engine or converting it into an electric vehicle with batteries and motors

The scrappage scheme is targeted only at those who have a registered home address in one of the 32 London boroughs.

They can only receive the £2,000 payment for a privately-owned passenger car if they can provide evidence of receiving ‘certain means-tested benefits and non-means-tested disability benefits’.

These include Universal Credit, Carer’s Allowance, Child Tax Credit, Income Support, Jobseeker’s Allowance and several others.

It means motorists who are not receiving any benefits whatsoever are not eligible for the scheme and will need to fully fund their transition to a newer vehicle that complies with the zone’s emissions restrictions.  

How to check if your car is ULEZ compliant 

Exemption from the £12.50-a-day ULEZ charge is different depending on the type of vehicle you own and the fuel it uses:

• Petrol cars and vans: need to meet Euro 4 standards (vehicles post-2006) 
• Diesel cars and vans: need to meet Euro 6 standards (vehicles post-2015) 
• Motorbikes and mopeds: need to meet Euro 3 standards (post-2007 vehicles) 
• Buses, coaches and lorries: need to meet or exceed the Euro VI standard

The dates provided are merely a guideline and some newer cars than this might not qualify to be driven for free within the ULEZ. 

If you’re unsure of the Euro standard of your car use TfL’s vehicle checker to find out if you’ll be charged.

In order for a vehicle to be accepted, it must be registered with the DVLA and insured with valid road tax and an MOT.  The owner must also have been the registered keeper for at least a year.

Londoners with no-compliant cars can also apply for the £2,000 grant in order to fund ‘retrofitting’ their vehicles with a Euro 6 engine or converting it into an electric vehicle with batteries and motors.

For the latter process, using a DIY kit installed by a qualified mechanic is roughly £15,000, while conversions by specialists start at the £30,000 mark, according to CarWow. 

Applicants can also claim a lower payment plus one or two TfL Annual Bus & Tram passes worth more than the payment alone. For example, an owner of a non-compliant car could claim £1,600 plus one travel pass or £1,200 plus two passes.

Those driving wheelchair-accessible vehicles can receive up to £5,000 towards scrapping or retrofitting their motors. 

Small businesses with 10 or fewer employees, sole traders and charities with a registered address in London can also apply for grants of up to £9,500, TfL says. 

The move follows a 2019 £90million scrappage scheme offered from 2019 in preparation for the last ULEZ extension, which saw the zone grow from Inner London’s Congestion Charge Zone to the boundary of the North and South Circular Roads.

Mayor Khan said that scheme removed more than 15,000 older motors from the capital’s roads, with the latest offer looking to scrap even more in the coming months. 

Londoners who previously received a grant payment under the earlier TfL scrappage scheme are not eligible to apply for the one launched today.

The Great ULEZ rebellion is growing 

The Mayor’s Office says that around 94 per cent of vehicles seen driving in inner and central London, and 85 per cent of vehicles seen driving in outer London meet ULEZ standards, meaning the vast majority of drivers will not need to pay the £12.50 daily charge when the zone extends later this year. 

However, a spokesperson for the AA told MailOnline that these stats fail to reveal the full picture of the expanded zone’s impact.

The AA’s estimate is that there is likely 250,000 affected private cars in outer London and at least another 100,000 coming in everyday from outside the capital’s 32 boroughs.

‘The total number of cars that will potentially be priced off the capital’s streets will be 350,000-to-400,000,’ the motoring organisation said.

If the ULEZ is expanded in August to cover the whole of Greater London – seen here in purple – the AA estimates it will sting 250k to 400k drivers with daily charges of £12.50 per day 

Opponents of the scheme have blasted the plans, saying that residents and businesses will have to spend large amounts of cash during the ongoing cost of living crisis if they wish to keep driving in the capital without paying a daily charge.

Last year alone the scheme raised almost £227millon. 

Politically, Mayor Khan faces a flood of rebellion, with PM Rishi Sunak among those calling for this year’s expansion to be axed.  

Labour Councillor for Barking and Dagenham, Darren Rodwell, said that while the initiative to combat poor air quality should be taken seriously, it ‘must take full account of how people will be affected financially’.

He tweeted Thursday: ‘As part of the Mayor’s consultation last summer the council raised concerns on behalf of residents and businesses who will be impacted by the expansion of ULEZ.’

London Assembly member, Nick Rogers, who is the Conservative transport spokesman, stressed it will be those who can least afford it who will be hit by the tax.

Is there an emission charging zone in a city near you? 

Drivers of older cars across Britain will soon have to come to terms with the concept of emissions tax zones in the most polluted cities that could turn vehicle ownership from a convenience to a burden.

Under government orders, councils have been told to curb their air pollution levels – and to do so, they should rid their roads of the dirtiest vehicles.  

Some 13 cities in total have – or plan to have – charging zones for motorised vehicles by the middle of 2023. 

> Here’s a guide to every ULEZ, CAZ, LEZ and ZEZ 

 

Mr Rogers told MailOnline: ‘Sadiq Khan has not been honest about his ULEZ expansion and the sham consultation he is using to implement it, and it is low-income and vulnerable Londoners who will pay the price. 

‘He needs to listen to Londoners, scrap his expansion, and spend the money on policies that actually reduce air pollution.’    

Several council leaders have also urged Mr Khan to reconsider his plan, with some boroughs saying they will not install cameras required to police the ULEZ. 

A spokesperson for Sutton Council said that 30 per cent of vehicles registered in the borough are not ULEZ compliant. 

‘We are concerned that the costs will be shouldered by people already struggling to get by in a difficult time, including small business owners and key workers,’ they said.

Councillor Alexander Ehmann, Chair of Richmond Council’s Transport and Air Quality Committee, said: ‘We hope that the Mayor of London will consider a six-to-12 month delay and consider extending the scrappage scheme to help the much greater number of people who rely on their vehicles and simply cannot afford to replace them without a significant transition period and financial support.’

Havering Council’s Ray Morgan told MailOnline: ‘We have had meetings with Transport for London, are currently in contact with other London Councils who oppose the ULEZ expansion to understand specifically how they intend to block or challenge the Mayor’s decision, along with carrying out our own research.’

In a separate move, TfL is increasing the penalty for not paying the ULEZ payment from £20 to £180, although this is reduced to £90 if paid within 14 days. 

The London Assembly says this is to ‘maintain the deterrent effect of the scheme and achieve the scheme’s air quality and health objectives’.

This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk