Scrappage scheme to close after already committing £186m

Fleets wanting to apply for funding from a scrappage scheme have until September 7 before it closes.

Transport for London (TfL) is calling time on the scrappage scheme having already provided £186 million in funding to almost 54,000 applicants.

This was on top of the £61m for the central and inner London ultra-low emission zone (ULEZ), which led to more than 15,000 successful applications.

The latest scrappage scheme, which opened in January 2023, was expanded to cover all Londoners in the capital ahead of the launch of the London-wide ULEZ.

Some 36,008 Londoners have had their application approved to scrap their non-compliant car or motorcycle, totalling £69.5m in grants, while17,936 applications have been approved to scrap or retrofit a van or minibus, totalling £116.5m in grants.

Of these, some 232 charities had their applications approved, totalling £1,7m, and 17,704 small businesses, including sole traders, received £114.8m.

Christina Calderato, TfL’s director of strategy, said: “The £186m we have committed so far through the scrappage scheme has been instrumental in the over 96% of vehicles we are now seeing complying with the standards.

“We have seen enthusiastic take up of the scrappage scheme after it was opened to all Londoners. With the vast majority of those needing support to adapt to the ULEZ having already taken action and nearly 54,000 thousand applications approved, demand for the scheme is now much lower.

“We encourage anyone who still needs support to submit their application before 8 September. Any remaining funds will then be considered for other proposed uses to further the Mayor’s Transport Strategy."

With application volumes now considerably lower after more than 18 months of operation, it is proposed that new applicants will have until 11.59pm on September 7 to submit their applications.

In addition, it is proposed that the grace period for minibuses used by not-for-profit organisations for community transport is extended from October 2025 to October 2027.

Grace periods for community transport and disabled Londoners remain open until October 2027.

It is proposed that any funds remaining following the planned closure will be considered for other uses to further the Mayor’s Transport Strategy.

Any application made before the proposed deadline would be guaranteed to be processed and reviewed for eligibility. This includes people wishing to donate their vehicle to Ukraine.

Following the planned winding down of the scheme, the Mayor is proposing to make a donation to British Ukrainian Aid to enable vehicles to continue being sent to Ukraine.