London Mayor announces £110m scrappage scheme to support ULEZ introduction
Mon 30 January 2023
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The Mayor of London has announced the 'biggest ever' scrappage scheme which aims to support Londoners on lower incomes, disabled residents, charities, sole traders and small businesses in replacing or retrofitting their old, polluting vehicles.
The £110m City-Hall funded vehicle scrappage scheme is worth almost double the funding available for previous ground-breaking schemes, according to the Greater London Authority. London has not received scrappage funding from the Government, unlike other UK cities including Birmingham, Bristol and Portsmouth.
Grants of up to £9,500 will be available to support Londoners transition to cleaner transport options. The Mayor has announced plans to expand the ULEZ to the Greater London boundary in August this year despite widespread opposition from borough councils, four of whom have threatened legal action.
Drivers of some significantly older petrol vehicles (pre-2005) and most diesels over seven years old will have to pay £12.50 a day to drive in the Zone which was originally launched in 2019 and expanded to cover the inner boroughs in October 2021. About 15% of vehicles in outer London are currently anticipated to be liable for the charge.
The Mayor says that the new scrappage scheme and grace periods will help drivers of non-compliant vehicles to prepare.
About 94% of vehicles driving in the original ULEZ are now compliant, so do not pay a charge to enter it, compared with just 35% in 2017, when the scheme was announced.
To accompany the scrappage scheme, the Mayor and TfL are also announcing a number of other ULEZ support offers from businesses, including additional exclusive offers for successful applicants of the scrappage scheme. This will enable Londoners to benefit from discounts on subscriptions, rentals and purchases of bicycles, e-bikes, cargo bikes, cars and vans from companies including Brompton, Enterprise and Santander Cycles.
Londoners receiving certain means-tested benefits and non-means-tested disability benefits can apply for cash grants of up to £2,000 to scrap their non-compliant cars or motorcycles. As a new feature, successful applicants can choose to receive a higher value package comprised of up to two free annual bus and tram passes and a lower cash grant.
Disabled people who want to scrap or retrofit* a non-compliant wheelchair accessible vehicle will be able to apply for grants of £5,000 to reflect the higher cost of these vehicles. Disabled people can also apply for a nominated driver who lives at a different address if they do not drive themselves.
Charities, sole traders and business with 10 or fewer employees registered in London can apply to scrap a van (£5,000 grant) or a minibus (£7,000 grant), retrofit* certain vans or minibuses (£5,000 grant) or scrap and replace a van or minibus with a fully electric vehicle (£7,500 or £9,500 grant respectively).
The Mayor of London, Sadiq 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.
“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."
*Note: Retrofits must be accredited and certified by the EST CVRAS (Clean Vehicle Retrofit Accreditation Scheme), supported by Zemo, to meet the requirements of the ULEZ and avoid penalty charges.
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