Less than 50% of car owners receive Ulez scrappage payment

Transport for London said £158m has been claimed so far by people scrapping non-compliant vehicles

Less than a third of van owners and less than half of car owners who applied for money from the Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez) scrappage fund have been successful, figures show.

Transport for London (TfL) says £158m has been claimed so far by people scrapping non-compliant vehicles.

London's mayor Sadiq Khan has just added another £50m to the fund.

Tory mayoral candidate Susan Hall called the Ulez expansion "unfair" and a "relentless attack on motorists".

The Lib Dems called for retrospective applications to the fund to be made possible for drivers who had already scrapped vehicles before rule-changes came in.

Just a week before Ulez was extended to cover all of outer London on 29 August, the eligibility criteria were changed so that everyone could apply.

The Green Party said there must now be "investment into public transport" so Londoners had "affordable alternatives".

Nearly 65,000 car and motorbike owners have applied for the £2,000 scrappage payment and 31,577 have been approved.

Of the 50,000 van owners who applied, about 15,000 were successful.

Meanwhile, the government has told the mayor there is nothing to stop him sending vehicles to Ukraine.

'Huge take up'

Seb Dance, deputy mayor for transport, said there had been a "huge take-up" of money from the biggest scrappage scheme of its kind in the UK.

"We want even more businesses, charities and individuals to be able to replace or retrofit their older, polluting vehicles, so we are planning to provide an additional £50m to the fund, which would bring the total to £210m," he said.

In June, Mr Khan extended eligibility to people who claimed child benefit after pressure from Labour MPs and others.

Following further criticism and Labour's failure to win the Uxbridge and South Ruislip by-election, he added the £50m to the existing £110m pot.

Then, just one week before the Ulez expansion on 29 August, it was announced that everyone could apply for scrappage.

Retrospective applications

The Lib Dems' mayoral candidate Rob Blackie said drivers who had already scrapped their vehicles should now be able to apply "retrospectively… given the rules changed so late in the day".

"These figures prove that Sadiq Khan's rushed Ulez expansion has left thousands of Londoners without the support they need.

TfL will not disclose how many vehicles have paid the charge or been fined

"Far too many small businesses and sole traders are struggling to get access to scrappage money - a double punishment as they are hit with a charge each day while they try to do the right thing and change to a cleaner vehicle."

In August, the grant available for a minibus if you replaced it with an electric version was increased from £9,500 to £11,500.

The grant for van owners prepared to replace with an electric model went up from £7,500 to £9,500

But the latest TfL data shows five minibuses and 370 vans have taken up the offer, suggesting the price of electric vehicles puts them beyond the reach of most.

• Half of outer London vans not fit for ULEZ - data

• Sending 4x4s to Ukraine needs rule change - mayor

Since 29 August, drivers of older, polluting cars that do not meet emission limits have been paying £12.50 a day to drive anywhere in the capital.

TfL will not disclose how many vehicles have paid the charge or been fined, nor how much money has been raised so far.

The government has told the mayor there is no "legal barrier" stopping him sending vehicles to Ukraine

There are about 160,000 light goods vehicles registered in outer London, so the latest data suggests the owners of more than a quarter have applied for help.

Conservative mayoral candidate Susan Hall called the Ulez expansion "unfair", adding: "[Mr Khan's] scrappage scheme is a joke. The only thing we need to scrap in this city is him as mayor."

A City Hall Green Party spokesperson said: "People applying for the scheme need a quick decision to be made and action must be taken to prevent delays, and there must be a clear and rapid process for when unfair decisions need to be challenged.

"We must now see investment into public transport, to ensure that people have affordable alternatives to get around."

Changes to the scheme

Only a week before the Ulez expansion, the £5,000 on offer was raised to £7,000 and small businesses with up to 50 employees were allowed to apply rather than only sole traders and micro businesses.

Matt Jaffa from the Federation of Small Businesses said: "We called for greater funding and grace periods and whilst we have seen the funding leaving TfL there are still significant blockages in the system with too many businesses being rejected or awaiting payment.

"Extra funding is needed to make sure hard pressed small businesses are supported.

"TfL also need to act decisively to help more businesses get a 'computer says YES' message to the burgeoning levels of applications."

Data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers suggested close to 80,000 registered vans did not meet Ulez emissions standards at the end of 2022.

City Hall and TfL said the figure was lower based on their own analysis of camera data.

Donations to Ukraine

Meanwhile on Wednesday, Transport Secretary Mark Harper told Mr Khan there was no "legal barrier" to cars being donated to Ukraine through the Ulez scrappage scheme.

Mr Khan asked the cabinet minister in December to enable 4x4s and other suitable vehicles that would otherwise be scrapped to be sent to Ukraine.

The mayor had previously made it clear he did not believe altering the Ulez scheme for exporting vehicles would be possible under current laws.

Mr Harper wrote a letter to Mr Khan on Wednesday that said official from the Department for Transport and Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities had been working with TfL to "identify routes to overcome" any "obstacles".

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