Sadiq Khan is set to expand financial aid for Londoners who need to replace their polluting vehicles ahead of the expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone to Greater London.
The Mayor announced on Thursday that thousands more families and businesses will be able to benefit from the extended scrappage scheme.
It follows interventions from several Labour MPs and council leaders who argued that their poorest constituents would suffer financially when the clean air scheme expands to outer London boroughs in August.
Feltham and Heston MP Seema Malhotra, Mitcham and Morden MP Siobhain McDonagh and Erith and Thamesmead MP Abena Oppong-Asare were among the Labour politicians who voiced their concerns about the impact of the policy.
City Hall put in place a £110million scrappage fund for micro businesses and the poorest Londoners to replace their old non-compliant cars.
Under the new plans, there will now be support for:
- Londoners receiving child benefit
- Businesses registered in London with fewer than 50 employees. Currently, only those with up to 10 staff can apply
- London-based charities looking to scrap or retrofit up to three vans or minibuses, instead of just one
- Care workers who need support will also be “targeted for help”
A total of 874,710 families in London receive child benefit, with 578,315 of those in outer London, the mayor's office said.
The expanded scrappage scheme will be in place from end of July.
Mr Khan said: “The majority of vehicles in London are already Ulez compliant and will not have to pay anything. But I completely understand the concerns of people who may not have a compliant vehicle and are worried about how they’ll make the transition.
“We already have the biggest-ever scrappage scheme in place to support Londoners on low incomes, London based micro-businesses and charities and disabled Londoners.
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“But I’ve listened to families and small businesses in outer London who want more support and I’m pleased to be able to announce today a major expansion to the scheme run by TfL to ensure we can help them.”
But political rivals argued expanding the scrappage scheme was not enough.
Tory London Mayor hopeful Paul Scully said: “The bare minimum is giving more Londoners access to the scrappage scheme.
“The right thing to do is scrapping the Ulez expansion all together.”
Conservative London Assembly Member for Bexley and Bromley, Peter Fortune, added: “This unnecessary money-grabbing scheme will be a disaster for Londoners, hitting charities, small businesses and low income families the hardest.
“However, if he is determined to force Ulez though, he should make sure people have the help they need. Be in no doubt, however, that he is offering the bare minimum and this minor change will not cover the crippling expense of buying a new car.”
