Mayor Sadiq Khan launches £23m scrappage scheme for dirty vans

London's Mayor Sadiq Khan has revealed plans to pay drivers to ditch their polluting vans, in a bid to help small businesses in the capital prepare for demanding new vehicle emissions rules that take effect in the city in April 2019.

The Mayor hopes the £23m scrappage scheme, announced yesterday, will encourage small businesses make the switch to electric vehicles, which produce less air pollution and contribute less to climate change.

The scheme is also designed to help smooth the introduction of the capital's Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) next year, which will see all but the cleanest cars forced to pay an extra £12.50 a day to enter central London.

"Air pollution is a national health crisis that is stunting the lung development of our children and leading to thousands of premature deaths," said Khan. "To truly get a grip on our lethal air we need to take bold action to rid our city of the most polluting vehicles."

Support from the scrappage scheme will initially only be available to London businesses with fewer than 10 employees. It can be used to trade in vans which do not meet the ULEZ standard but which enter the ULEZ zone on a regular basis, City Hall said.

Edmund King, president of the AA, said the new fund would give small firms an "escape" from air quality charges, which are ramping up in towns and cities across the UK as councils battle illegal air pollution.

"Some small businesses that cannot afford to switch their vans to cleaner Euro VIs have been taking the hit from higher road use charges and simply passing on the extra costs to their customers," he said. "This scrappage scheme gives them a route to cleaner vehicles, an escape from air quality charges, the chance to stay competitive in their trades and businesses, reduce customer costs and above all the means to cut street-level pollution."

Khan also urged the government - which has previously ruled out a nationwide scrappage scheme for older diesel vehicles - to match the funding from City Hall with £23m of government money.

"If the government stepped up and matched the Mayor's funding, it would enable City Hall to put in place further scrappage support for other Londoners, including those on low incomes, and charity vehicles," City Hall said in a statement. "It would also give ministers the evidence they need to judge scrappage proposals from other cities, and demonstrate the transformational benefits of a truly national scrappage fund."

While the move was broadly welcomed by campaigners, some said Khan should focus on taking more vehicles off the road altogether.

"To really tackle London's toxic air and to manage competing demands on road space, we need to reduce the overall number of vehicles on our roads - not just switch to less polluting ones," said Ben Rogers, director of the Centre for London. "This will require a comprehensive package of policy reforms. This package should include reforming and extending road pricing, supporting micro-consolidation and last-mile delivery capacity, and investing in public transport, and measures to promote walking and cycling."