Londoners urged to check if they qualify for ULEZ scrappage scheme

In an update on the latest ULEZ scrappage scheme launched in January, Transport for London reveal that nearly £18m has been allocated to date but that there are still ‘tens of millions’ in the fund.

4,833 applications have been approved through the scheme, with £13.5m being allocated to drivers of vans and minibuses – the majority going to help small businesses – and more than £4m to Londoners who own non-compliant cars and motorcycles.

Owners of non-compliant cars who are on lower incomes or who receive disability benefits are eligible for a scrappage grant, as are small businesses and charities if they need to scrap a van.

To break down the £18m:

• 1,673 Londoners on low income benefits: £3,175,200
• 510 Londoners in receipt of disability benefits: £998,800
• 31 charities: £187,000 
• 1,290 micro businesses: £6,638,500
• 1,329 sole traders: £6,728,000

The concern is that many more Londoners might be eligible for a scrappage grant without realising it. An example given is that a couple with no children earning £36,000 a year between them, paying £900 a month in rent, could be entitled to Universal Credit, and therefore be eligible. Similarly, a couple with two children, earning over £50,000, paying £1,200 a month in rent could also be entitled to Universal Credit, so again could be eligible for the scrappage scheme.

Londoners have been very active in checking whether their cars are compliant or not – the website has received over 8 million visits – now people are being asked to check their eligibility for a grant.

Surprisingly (or not…) a  survey of those who used the previous scrappage scheme found that a third of people did not purchase a replacement car or motorcycle with the money and 22% said they no longer have access to a vehicle.

22% also said they now walked more, 5% said they cycled more, 16% said they used buses more and 4% said they used the underground more.

Deputy Mayor for Environment & Energy, Shirley Rodrigues, said: ‘My message to Londoners today is that there is plenty of funding still available and you may be entitled to the scrappage scheme and not realise it. So I urge people to go online today and see if they could also be eligible for thousands of pounds to scrap their polluting vehicle.’