The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, announced a massive expansion of the scrappage scheme to every Londoner affected by the imminent ULEZ expansion, along with a number of other significant changes.

In November 2022, Khan announced the expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) (earlier post) London-wide (earlier post). The expansion of ULEZ, which comes into effect on 29 August 2023, will operate across all London boroughs up to the existing Low Emission Zone boundary for large and heavy vehicles.

Khan said that expanding the ULEZ London-wide was a difficult decision but that he remains committed to pushing ahead on 29 August. ULEZ is a highly targeted scheme that aims to take the most polluting vehicles off London’s roads. 90 percent of cars seen driving in outer London on an average day are already compliant.

However, after listening to the concerns of Londoners over recent months and the impact of the growing cost-of-living crisis, the Mayor announced that to make the transition easier, the scrappage scheme will be widened to every Londoner affected by ULEZ along with a host of other significant changes. This means from 21 August:

• Every Londoner with a non ULEZ-compliant car will be eligible for a £2,000 grant;

• Small businesses and sole traders will be able to receive up to £21,000 in grants to scrap up to three vans; and

• Charities will be able to receive up to £27,000 in grants to scrap up to three minibuses.

From 4 August:

• Small businesses and charities with a non-compliant van will receive increased payments of £7,000 (up from £5,000);

• Grants for Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles will increase from £5,000 to £10,000;

• Grants for scrapping Minibuses will increase from £7,000 to £9,000;

• Grants to Replace a non-compliant van with electric van increase from £7,500 to £9,500;

• Grants to replace a non-compliant minibus with an electric minibus increase from £9,500 to £11,500; and

• Retrofit grants increase from £5k to £6k, typically enough to cover the whole cost of retrofitting

This will bring the total amount the Mayor has invested in the latest scrappage scheme to £160 million (US$204 million), and, in addition to the £60 million previously invested in the scrappage scheme, would be the most generous scrappage scheme ever seen in the UK.

The scrappage scheme will be available on a first-come-first-serve basis, with low income and disabled Londoners having already had seven months to apply. While the government has provided hundreds of millions in scrappage funding to other cities in the UK implementing clean air zones, it has not provided any to London. The Mayor continues to call on the government to provide money for people in the areas outside London to scrap their vehicles, in the way they have done across the country.