ULEZ: Sadiq Khan scrappage scheme initiative for care workers

A new portal for care workers will be launched, Sadiq Khan has said, to make it “as easy as possible” for them to access support from the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) scrappage scheme.

London’s mayor told LondonWorld the portal, on the Transport for London (TfL) website, will be introduced as part of the scheme’s extension, expected at the end of July.

The expansion of the scrappage scheme will mean all Londoners receiving child benefit and small businesses with fewer than 50 employees will be able to apply for support, in addition to those on certain low income or disability benefits, plus some businesses and charities, who already qualify.

Under the scheme, eligible applicants can either receive payment or a combination of payment and adult-rate annual bus and tram passes, in exchange for scrapping or retrofitting their non-compliant vehicles.

The extension came after Labour MPs and councillors piled on pressure for Mr Khan to widen the net to include more Londoners.

As part of the announcement, the mayor said care workers, who are among the groups already eligible, are to be targeted to ensure they benefit.

Mr Khan told LondonWorld he is keen for care workers to recognise they are able to access the support, and so a portal is to be set up on the TfL website “to make it as easy as possible”.

He said his team will also be working with organisations such as Care England to ensure care workers are aware of the scheme.

“The reason I’m particularly sensitive to care workers is because I saw the difference they made during the pandemic, and I also recognise they often don’t get a huge salary and they use their car to get from client to client, from home to home, so we’re really keen to make sure those care workers who may have a non-compliant vehicle, and may not realise they can get support, get support,” he said.

Mr Khan said work is being done to try to bring forward the scheme’s extension, from the end of July to the start of the month, to give Londoners more time to apply before the ULEZ is expanded on August 29.

Conservative Assembly Member (AM) Peter Fortune welcomed the mayor’s decision to “listen to his political opponents”, though accused Mr Khan of “offering the bare minimum and this minor change will not cover the crippling expense of buying a new car.

“The best thing Sadiq Khan can do now is scrap it and start tackling air pollution where it is, instead of taxing people where it isn’t.”