Older vehicles that do not meet emissions standards incur a £12.50-a-day charge
- Author, William Wandji
- Role, BBC London
- Rejection letters for the £160m scrappage scheme lacked “clarity”, City Hall has heard
- Grants offered include £2,000 for cars and £1,000 for motorcycles
- London Assembly Member for Liberal Democrats, Caroline Pidgeon, urges prompt resolution
- The mayor’s office said it endeavoured to make rejection letters “as clear as possible”
Londoners refused grants under the Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez) scrappage scheme are receiving “template” rejection letters, City Hall has heard.
The £160m initiative aims to assist owners of non-compliant vehicles with transitioning to cleaner models by offering grants.
London Assembly Member Caroline Pidgeon said Transport for London (TfL) – which oversees the scheme – was failing to explain in all cases why applicants had been rejected.
The mayor’s office said TfL “endeavours to make rejection letters as clear as possible”.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan expanded the zone in August to cover the outer boroughs
But Ms Pidgeon, for the Lib Dems, added clarity was only provided upon contacting TfL’s help centre.
In a written question to mayor Sadiq Khan, she asked him to “ensure” the process was reviewed and that caseworkers were “specifying the precise information to help residents to understand any issues related to their application”.
In response, the mayor’s office said TfL “endeavours to make rejection letters as clear as possible”.
They added: “Where applicable, the rejection letter will also include advice about the evidence needed to support a new application.
“TfL continuously reviews customer feedback as well as the quality of responses and through this process will identify any delivery improvements to areas such as rejections.”
‘Unfair’
Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Ms Pidgeon said the mayor must “get to grips” with these issues.
“It is unfair in a cost of living crisis that people are missing out on vital financial assistance as a result of bureaucratic problems,” she added.
Originally limited to specific recipients, small businesses and charities, the scrappage scheme expanded in August to include all Londoners with non-compliant vehicles.
As of late October, approximately £38.6 million remained unallocated.
Recent data revealed an increase in Ulez compliance, with 95.3% of vehicles in London now meeting standards, up from 91.6% in June.
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