Owners of vehicles that might otherwise be scrapped under Sadiq Khan’s Ultra-Low Emission Zone compensation scheme for the most polluting cars and vans will soon be free to donate them to Ukraine instead, without financial loss.
City Hall has announced that, pending the Mayor signing a formal decision to expanded the ULEZ scrappage scheme to allow the option, “a range” of suitable vehicles that do not meet air pollution standards will be able to be sent to Ukraine for medical and humanitarian use through a partnership with the charity British-Ukrainian Aid.
Khan had previously said national regulations did not permit him to provide grants to owners of non-compliant vehicles who had decided to part with them unless those vehicles were scrapped, and in December he and Conservative former defence secretary Ben Wallace wrote to transport secretary Mark Harper asking him for the scheme to be adapted.
City Hall says Harper “confirmed at the end of January that the government does not consider there to be any legal barrier to allowing non-compliant vehicles to be donated to Ukraine and to still receive the same level of grant payment”. All vehicles donated will be permanently removed from the UK.
The London Ambulance Service intends to contribute to the effort to assist Ukraine by giving the country 50 of its decommissioned ambulances, starting with ten in the next few weeks and the rest following by the end of the summer.
Mayor Khan pledged to “continue to do all I can to help those affected, including supporting Ukrainians seeking help in London and signposting where Londoners can make donations. Alongside the human toll of the conflict, there has been a significant impact on Ukraine’s infrastructure, and these plans to donate non-compliant vehicles will help meet medical and humanitarian needs while also helping to remove old, polluting vehicles from London’s roads”.
Eduard Fesko,chargé d’affaires of Ukraine in the UK, said: “The ULEZ program is gradually expanding, providing a healthier and happier environment for London residents and visitors. Ukraine is also aiming for similar reforms, whether in Kyiv or other cities, where comprehensive reconstruction will be required after the end of the barbaric Russian aggression. There is a unique opportunity to give a second life to vehicles by donating them to Ukraine, which can help save human lives.”
Dave Hill is editor and publisher of OnLondon.co.uk. Support the site and its writers for £5 a month or £50 a year and get things for your money too. Details HERE. X: OnLondon and Dave Hill Threads: DaveHillOnLondon. Photo from British-Ukrainian Aid.