Mayor urged to double pot for ULEZ scrappage scheme

The London Assembly has today raised concerns regarding the take up of the Mayor’s ULEZ scrappage scheme, and is calling on the Mayor to increase the maximum payments to help improve London’s air quality.

The Mayor will expand the ULEZ to cover all of Greater London from 29 August, and the Assembly believes that take up of the scrappage scheme is low due to the restrictive eligibility of the scheme.

Because of this, it has today agreed a motion urging the Mayor of London to double the pot of money available within the scrappage scheme and to widen access to increase take up.

Caroline Pidgeon MBE AM, who proposed the original motion, said:

“We all want clean air.

“However, the Mayor needs to ensure he is properly resourcing any policies designed to tackle air pollution.

“The scrappage scheme as it exists currently offers too little financial support to Londoners who need to swap their vehicles for ones compliant with the rules.

“Particularly as there has been inflationary impact on the price of compliant cars since the announcement of the expansion, more needs to be done to ensure a higher take up of the scrappage scheme.”

Elly Baker AM, who proposed the amended motion, said:

“The latest figures show the Mayor’s scrappage scheme is going to the Londoners who need it most to upgrade their vehicles before the ULEZ is expanded. Nearly £33m has been spent to date.

“City Hall’s scrappage scheme stands at £110 million, but there has been no funding from Government despite them giving funds to other cities.

“The Mayor is right to keep the scheme under review so we can flexible going forward as the money is spent. This is a prudent approach and one we support the Mayor in.

“The scheme should always be targeted to those that need it most.”

The full text of the amended motion is:

This Assembly supports clean air for Londoners and believes that the Ultra Low Emission Zone is needed without delay to tackle air pollution in London, bringing essential public health improvements.

This Assembly notes that the Mayor’s expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) into Outer London, where amenities are spread out and public transport is more limited, will cause some hardship for a minority of people and businesses and charities. This Assembly welcomes the Mayor’s accompanying support for the expansion, including the £110 million scrappage scheme and the expansion of the bus network.

This Assembly notes that the Government have provided no additional support, despite doing so for other cities like Birmingham (£10m) and Bristol (£42m) and Portsmouth which have taken similar measures.

This Assembly notes that on 1 June 2023 the Mayor announced a partial widening of the eligibility criteria for the ULEZ scrappage scheme without increasing the pot of money available. As of 25 June 2023, almost 9,000 applications have been approved and £32.8.9 million of the £110 million scrappage scheme had been committed.

This Assembly believes that this take-up rate is too low, and welcomes the commitment from the Mayor that the scrappage scheme funding and eligibility will be kept under review.

This Assembly calls on the Mayor to:

• Double the pot of money available for the ULEZ scrappage scheme if there is a justified, evidence based, non-arbitrary case for doing so.
• Review the impact of increasing inflation on the cost of ULEZ compliant cars and increase the maximum payments available under the scrappage scheme if evidence shows it is necessary.
• Widen access to the scrappage scheme, while ensuring any new criteria mean that the scheme continues to be targeted to those that need it most.
• Continue to lobby the Government to provide financial support towards the scrappage scheme.