Calls for government to introduce national vehicle scrappage scheme

Renewed calls for a national car scrappage scheme to get rid of high-emitting vehicles were made at the Mayor of London’s Question Time last week by Labour’s London Assembly Environment Spokesperson, Leonie Cooper AM.

During the meeting, the Mayor Sadiq Khan criticised the government for excluding London from the national Clean Air Fund, highlighting other cities such as Bradford, Manchester, Birmingham and Bristol have all received support from the Fund.

In summer 2020, the government rejected proposals for a nationwide scrappage scheme.

Ms Cooper has now written to the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, calling for the government to add to the £61m of investment that the Mayor has made to help London residents and businesses switch to cleaner vehicles.

This comes ahead of the likely further expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ), subject to consultation, which will cover the whole of Greater London from 2023.

Labour’s London Assembly Environment Spokesperson, Leonie Cooper AM, said: ‘Access to clean air is like access to clean water- all Londoners should have a right to it. This is why the expansion of the ULEZ to cover the whole of the capital is the bold action we need in order to tackle the scourge of air pollution, which contributes to serious diseases and thousands of premature deaths in London each year.

‘Whilst the vast majority of Londoners won’t be liable to pay the ULEZ charge, there will still be many motorists, businesses and charities who need a helping hand to upgrade to greener vehicles. The Government should now introduce a national scrappage scheme, to add to the £61 million of investment the Mayor has already put into this. Ministers should give London access to the Clean Air Fund like so many other cities.’

In her letter, Ms Cooper argued: ‘The fairest solution would now be for the Government to introduce a national scrappage scheme to ensure all cities can benefit from cleaner air and that the significant investment that City Hall has already put in can be boosted.

‘It was disappointing that the Government ruled out plans to do this to incentivise electric car uptake back in June 2020. With the continuing revelations about the health impacts of toxic air and the urgency of our net-zero commitments, the introduction of national scrappage scheme must be put back firmly on the Government’s agenda.’

Photo by Nabeel Syed