Ulez scrappage scheme extended to all Londoners

Eligibility for a scrappage scheme has been extended to more people ahead of the expansion the Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez) to all of London.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has announced all Londoners with a non-compliant car can access up to £2,000 to replace their vehicle.

More support is also being given to small businesses, charities and those with disabilities.

Previously only those entitled to means tested benefits could claim money.

It comes after Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer urged the Labour mayor to "reflect" on the Ulez expansion following the party's by-election loss in Uxbridge in July.

In order to fund the expansion, the Mr Khan plans to use £50m of City Hall's reserves. This takes the total of the scrappage fund from £110m to £160m.

The scheme will be available on a first-come first-served basis, with low income and disabled Londoners having already had seven months to apply.

Mr Khan said: "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."

He added he was "not prepared to step back, delay or water-down vital green policies like Ulez, which will not only save lives and protect children's lungs by cleaning up our polluted air but help us to fight the climate crisis".

Conservative mayoral candidate Susan Hall said: "This is too little, too late from Sadiq Khan, who is facing mounting pressure from Londoners and his own party.

"Thousands of families, small businesses and charities face financial ruin because of Sadiq Khan's ULEZ expansion, which will do next to nothing to improve air quality.

"If I am elected Mayor, I will reverse this disastrous policy and replace it with a £50m fund to reduce air pollution without taxing people."

The mayor's clean air policy is set to expand to cover all of London from 29 August, after the High Court ruled it lawful one week ago. Five Conservative-led councils had challenged the expansion.

Drivers of the most polluting vehicles will have to pay £12.50 a day to drive anywhere in Greater London.

Some people living outside of London who may need to travel into the capital for reasons such as work are still concerned about the cost of replacing their vehicles, as they are not eligible to claim money from the scrappage scheme.

Surrey and Essex county councils have already said they will ban Ulez signage on their land.

One concerned resident outside London is Rev Carl Chambers, who runs a church in Wilmington, Kent, near the border of Bexley.

He told the BBC that Ulez was, "a kick in the guts for those who want to support loved ones."

Mr Chambers added: "I was at the crematorium at Eltham, standing room only for a funeral, and it [the Ulez] would have been a tax on friendship and support at such an important time when we're grieving."

Tim Donovan, BBC London political correspondent

Sadiq Khan has been forced into this by the political furore that followed Labour's Uxbridge by-election failure in the Ulez wilds of west London, and being told by Sir Keir Starmer to "reflect."

It is something he could have done before.

Months ago, the Liberal Democrats, among others, were saying that a fund of £110m would not be enough to compensate people being forced to scrap their cars in a short period.

Others argued it was not right to exclude low income working people who don't claim benefits from applying. Even now this is still fraught with danger for the mayor.

Some will feel the maximum amount people can claim is still not enough given the price of alternatives.

And then there's the maths.

There was £61m spent on scrapping 15,000 vehicles when Ulez was extended to inner London. It follows that £160m should help about 40,000 people. But there appear to be at least 300,000 owners of non-compliant cars in outer London, and tens of thousands of van drivers on top.

Is it first-come, first-served now? What expectations, or disappointment, may be aroused? Yet it seems this is more palatable to him than doing what many others suggest: delay.

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