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The idea – to drastically boost the size of the fund to help people replace their polluting vehicles – was supported by a majority of London Assembly members, as Liberal Democrats, Conservatives and Greens joined forces to vote for it.
But the proposal needed two thirds of Assembly Members (AMs) in order to pass, and was voted down by the Labour group.
READ MORE: ULEZ scrappage scheme announced ahead of expansion – here is what it offers
The amendment to the Mayor’s budget, put forward by Lib Dem AM Caroline Pidgeon, would have required Mr Khan to double the size of the £110 million scrappage scheme he launched in January, by drawing money from City Hall’s reserves.
The ULEZ, which charges drivers of non-compliant vehicles £12.50 per day, is due to expand on August 29.
Thousands of small businesses, charities and low-income Londoners have already applied for scrappage grants and the £110 million scheme is likely to become oversubscribed.
The Mayor has asked Prime Minister Rishi Sunak for funding to double the size of the scheme to £220m, with the hope of providing support to people affected by the move in the Home Counties as well as outer London.
Caroline Pigeon AM. Credit: London Assembly
At a meeting on Thursday, Ms Pidgeon asked the Mayor why he was not using money from Transport of London’s (TfL) £500 million reserve fund to provide a bigger scrappage scheme.
“You stated that you believed you needed around £180 million over three years for scrappage, but that £110 million was all you could afford,” she said, referring to comments Mr Khan made in January.
“Do you really think Londoners would rather see you building up reserves across the Greater London Authority, rather than using around £100 million to help Londoners meet the Ulez expansion?” she asked.
The Mayor told Ms Pidgeon he would keep a decision on whether to use City Hall’s own funding to increase the size of…
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