Ulez scrappage scheme: More than half of fund unclaimed

Two thirds of applications for the Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez) scrappage scheme have not yet been successful, fresh figures show.

Transport for London (TfL) data shows £71.5m of funds remain unclaimed from an original pot of £110m.

Mayor Sadiq Khan has since added £50m more, promising that Londoners will be able access up to £2,000 to replace non-compliant cars from 21 August.

More drivers received scrappage grants in Hillingdon than any other borough.

Drivers of the most-polluting vehicles will have to pay £12.50 a day to drive anywhere in Greater London from 29 August.

Of the 11,482 car and motorcycle applications, 4,748 have been approved totalling nearly £9m.

A lower percentage of van and minibus applications have been successful with £29.5m awarded to 5,814 drivers from a total of 19,043.

There have been no applications from drivers in the City of London, although 11 people from outside the capital applied. All were rejected.

Some £3.2m of grants went to drivers in Hillingdon, where the Uxbridge and South Ruislip by-election was won by the Conservatives, after which Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer called on Mr Khan to "reflect" on his expansion plans.

Most boroughs with the largest amounts awarded are in outer London: drivers in Bromley, Croydon, Ealing, Havering and Sutton have all claimed at least £2m.

The mayor's clean-air policy will expand to cover all of London after the High Court ruled it lawful last month. Five Conservative-led councils had challenged the expansion.

Kent, Surrey and Essex county councils have already said they will ban Ulez signage on their land.

City Hall has said that 90% of cars seen driving in outer London complied with Ulez standards, which has been backed by the UK Statistics Authority - although the watchdog criticised the mayor over data transparency.

Vehicles that automatically comply with Ulez clean-air regulations are petrol cars and vans made after 2006, diesel cars and vans made after 2015 and motorbikes made after 2007.

Mr Khan will use £50m of City Hall's reserves to expand the scrappage fund from £110m to £160m.

The scheme will be available on a first-come, first-served basis, with low-income and disabled Londoners having already had seven months to apply.

Applications can take up to 20 working days, although TfL says it is expecting an increase on 21 August when eligibility widens to all Londoners.

A TfL spokesperson said: "The total of the applications approved does not necessarily indicate the rejection of all others, as while the scheme is live there may be some applications awaiting final assessment/processing, including those that require the resubmission of corrected or missing documentation from applicants.

"It's not possible to say at this stage what percentage of applications are approved or rejected, but an evaluation report with a more detailed breakdown will be published following the closure of the scheme."

From 4 August:

Retrofitting a vehicle: £6,000

Small businesses* and charities with a van: £7,000

Minibuses: £9,000

Disabled Londoners with wheelchair-adapted vehicles: £10,000

*Small businesses are defined as those with fewer than 50 employees

From 21 August:

Londoners with non-compliant vehicles can claim a maximum of:

Cars: £2,000

Sole traders and small trades with vans: £7,000 per vehicle (up to three)

Charities with a registered address in London that use a minibus: £9,000 per vehicle (up to three)

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