Nearly £18m allocated so far from scrappage scheme ahead of ULEZ expansion

Date: Thursday 27 April 2023

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Since the end of January, the vehicle scrappage scheme has committed nearly £18m to low-income and disabled Londoners, and small businesses and charities to help them take some of the most polluting vehicles from London's roads.

While £13.5m has been allocated for drivers of vans and minibuses, the majority going to help small businesses, more than £4m has been committed to Londoners who own non-compliant cars and motorcycles.

Overall, 4,833 applications have been approved through the scheme, with £17,727,500 committed to date. In detail:

• 2,183 car and motorcycle applications have been approved, committing £4,174,000 of funding
• 2,650 van and minibus applications have been approved, committing another £13,553,500. The grants for vans and minibuses are higher than cars and motorcycles, reflecting the higher purchase cost
• 1,673 Londoners on low income benefits have had applications approved, worth £3,175,200
• 510 Londoners in receipt of disability benefits, totalling £998,800
• 31 charities have had their applications approved, totalling £187,000 in grants
• 1,290 micro businesses have had their applications approved, totalling £6,638,500
• 1,329 sole traders have had their applications approved, totalling £6,728,000

Based on previous schemes, there is usually an increase in applications closer to implementation. With just over four months to go until the ULEZ expands, there are still tens of millions of pounds left in the scrappage fund and TfL continues to advise drivers to check their vehicle's compliance and make the most of the Mayor's scrappage scheme.

Drivers have been heeding TfL's advice to check their vehicle's compliance, with more than 8m visits to TfL's vehicle checker since the Mayor confirmed that the ULEZ would expand. With most petrol vehicles under 16 years old and diesel vehicles under six years old already meeting the emission standards, many drivers have been discovering that their vehicles are compliant with the ULEZ.

The £110m scrappage scheme was launched to support smaller businesses, sole traders, charities, Londoners on lower incomes and disabled Londoners in replacing their older, more polluting vehicles with greener options.

The scheme helps Londoners on lower incomes or who receive disability benefits scrap cars and motorcycles, and sole traders, micro-business or charities scrap or retrofit vans and minibuses.

More Londoners could be eligible for the scheme on the on the basis of their income than they realise. Eligibility can vary depending on personal circumstances, such as whether they live alone or have children, but regardless, eligibility is more likely for those renting their homes.

Analysis shows that many people could be eligible for scrappage who don't realise it.

The London-wide ULEZ is vital to tackle the triple challenges of air pollution, the climate emergency and congestion. The latest TfL data shows that 90 per cent of cars seen driving in outer London on an average day already meet the standards. This is expected to be even higher when the scheme goes live later this year.

Deputy Mayor for Environment & Energy, Shirley Rodrigues, recently said:

“Around 4,000 Londoners die every year as a result of our poor quality air, and it contributes to a range of serious health conditions from asthma, to cancer, to dementia.

“While nine in 10 cars seen driving daily in outer London are already ULEZ-compliant, I'm pleased that thousands of owners of non-compliant vehicles have already applied to our scrappage scheme.

“My message to Londoners today is that there is plenty of funding still available and you may be entitled to the scrappage scheme and not realise it. So I urge people to go online today and see if they could also be eligible for thousands of pounds to scrap their polluting vehicle.”

 

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