The ultra-low emission zone (ULEZ) scrappage scheme is being expanded as Sadiq Khan refuses to back down from criticism.
Residents of the UK’s capital city will now be entitled to grants of up to £2,000, according to the Mayor of London.
Under this scheme, drivers are awarded grants to help pay for replacements for their polluting vehicles.
Up until now, the scrappage scheme has only been available to Londoners on certain benefits and businesses with less than 50 employees.
However, as of today, the grant initiative will now apply to any residents with a non-compliant vehicle.
This comes ahead of ULEZ’s expansion into all of London’s 32 boroughs on August 29, which will bring an additional five million people into the environmental scheme’s purview
Vehicles which do not meet ULEZ standards have to pay £12.50 a day to enter a low-emission zone.
With this latest expansion by Sadiq Khan, the Mayor has invested £160million in this iteration of the scrappage scheme.
The initiative will operate on a first come first serve basis with low-income and disabled London residents already having had seven months to apply.
Here is a breakdown of the grant support available to qualifying London residents as of today, August 4:
- Grants for small businesses and charities with a non-compliant van will rise from £5,000 to £7,000
- Grants for wheelchair-accessible vehicles will rise from £5,000 to £10,000
- Grants for scrapping minibuses will rise from £7,000 to £9,000
- Grants to replace a non-compliant van with an electric van will rise from £7,500 to £9,500
- Grants to replace a non-compliant minibus with an electric minibus will rise from £9,500 to £11,500
- Retrofit grants will rise from £5,000 to £6,000.
Here is a breakdown of the grant support that will be available to qualifying London residents as of August 21:
- Residents with a non-compliant car will be eligible for a £2,000 grant
- Residents with a non-compliant car will be eligible for a $1,000 grant.
On this latest ULEZ development, Mr Khan said: “I’m determined to make sure that no Londoner and no London business is left behind and I’ll carry on listening.
“These policies are policies that are popular when they’re properly explained I’m quite clear that I’m simply not willing to delay, water down or step back on these vital public health and green policies.”
Despite this financial support, some critics have taken aim over whether £2,000 is enough for Londoners to upgrade their cars.
Susan Hall, the Conservative Party’s candidate for the next London mayor election next May, explained: “The grants aren’t sufficient as prices for used cars and vans have gone up and the expansion in eligibility doesn’t come into effect until a week before the Ulez.”
