In a flurry of Valentine's Day media, Sadiq Khan announced that he plans to double his "Scrap for Cash" polluting vehicle fund, stating that the "£48 million combined scheme will help scrap older vans for the capital's micro-business owners and help low-income Londoners scrap older cars". MAG asks "Will the Mayor extend the love by confirming that the fund will also assist the owners of older motorcycles?"
The announcement was formally made at the National Clean Air Summit, organised in partnership with UK100 and Unicef UK, where attendees discussed their concerns directly with the Environment Secretary, Michael Gove, and the Health Secretary, Matthew Hancock. The proposed new £25m fund will be included in the Mayor's Final Budget, due to be presented at a meeting of the London Assembly on February 25th.
MAG's Director of Campaigns & Political Engagement, Colin Brown, commented: "It is, of course, admirable that the Mayor is making efforts to ease the financial burden of his Ultra Low Emission Zone on those least able to afford newer vehicles, but there must be a clear and immediate message to confirm that the owners of older motorcycles that he proposes to charge will not be forgotten or excluded when the money is handed out. Many riders may well have already incurred the cost of scrapping their older machines; will they be able to claim the money retrospectively? Indeed, how soon will the money reach those that qualify, with only a matter of weeks to go until the £12.50 per day charge is to be introduced? Will the grant money just end up paying off the loans taken out to pay the ULEZ charge in the first weeks and months of the scheme?"
Colin went on to say "Maybe there is a chance that Sadiq is just playing with us because he intends to take the sensible approach of exempting all motorcycles but, if he doesn't do that, then excluding riders from eligibility for the fund would be a clear case of discrimination"
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