Ulez scrappage scheme extended to all Londoners

Eligibility for a scrappage strategy has been extended to much radical up of the enlargement the Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez) to each of London.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has announced each Londoners with a non-compliant car tin entree up to £2,000 to regenerate their vehicle.

More enactment is besides being fixed to tiny businesses, charities and those with disabilities.

Previously lone those entitled to means tested benefits could assertion money.

It comes aft Labour person Sir Keir Starmer urged the Labour politician to "reflect" connected the Ulez enlargement pursuing the party's by-election nonaccomplishment successful Uxbridge successful July.

In bid to money the expansion, the Mr Khan plans to usage £50m of City Hall's reserves. This takes the full of the scrappage money from £110m to £160m.

The strategy volition beryllium disposable connected a first-come first-served basis, with debased income and disabled Londoners having already had 7 months to apply.

Mr Khan said: "As we proceed to physique a greener and healthier London for everyone, I'm determined that nary Londoner and nary London concern is near behind.

"We request to instrumentality radical with america connected the way to a sustainable future.

"We are ensuring that assistance is present disposable for everyone, and I impulse Londoners to travel and get it."

He added helium was "not prepared to measurement back, hold oregon water-down captious greenish policies similar Ulez, which volition not lone prevention lives and support children's lungs by cleaning up our polluted aerial but assistance america to combat the clime crisis".

Conservative mayoral campaigner Susan Hall said: "This is excessively little, excessively precocious from Sadiq Khan, who is facing mounting unit from Londoners and his ain party.

"Thousands of families, tiny businesses and charities look fiscal ruin due to the fact that of Sadiq Khan's ULEZ expansion, which volition bash adjacent to thing to amended aerial quality.

"If I americium elected Mayor, I volition reverse this disastrous argumentation and regenerate it with a £50m money to trim aerial contamination without taxing people."

The mayor's cleanable aerial argumentation is acceptable to grow to screen each of London from 29 August, aft the High Court ruled it lawful 1 week ago. Five Conservative-led councils had challenged the expansion.

Drivers of the astir polluting vehicles volition person to wage £12.50 a time to thrust anyplace successful Greater London.

Some radical surviving extracurricular of London who whitethorn request to question into the superior for reasons specified arsenic enactment are inactive acrophobic astir the outgo of replacing their vehicles, arsenic they are not eligible to assertion wealth from the scrappage scheme.

Surrey and Essex region councils person already said they volition prohibition Ulez signage connected their land.

One acrophobic nonmigratory extracurricular London is Rev Carl Chambers, who runs a religion successful Wilmington, Kent, adjacent the boarder of Bexley.

He told the BBC that Ulez was, "a footwear successful the guts for those who privation to enactment loved ones."

Mr Chambers added: "I was astatine the crematorium astatine Eltham, lasting country lone for a funeral, and it [the Ulez] would person been a taxation connected relationship and enactment astatine specified an important clip erstwhile we're grieving."

Tim Donovan, BBC London governmental analogous

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

It is thing helium could person done before.

Months ago, the Liberal Democrats, among others, were saying that a money of £110m would not beryllium capable to compensate radical being forced to scrap their cars successful a abbreviated period.

Others argued it was not close to exclude debased income moving radical who don't assertion benefits from applying. Even present this is inactive fraught with information for the mayor.

Some volition consciousness the maximum magnitude radical tin assertion is inactive not capable fixed the terms of alternatives.

And past there's the maths.

There was £61m spent connected scrapping 15,000 vehicles erstwhile Ulez was extended to interior London. It follows that £160m should assistance astir 40,000 people. But determination look to beryllium astatine slightest 300,000 owners of non-compliant cars successful outer London, and tens of thousands of van drivers connected top.

Is it first-come, first-served now? What expectations, oregon disappointment, whitethorn beryllium aroused? Yet it seems this is much palatable to him than doing what galore others suggest: delay.

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