Government ministers have asked London Mayor Sadiq Khan to clarify what legal barriers he believes were preventing him from sending Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) non-compliant vehicles to Ukraine.
It comes after the mayor, who previously refused to send the vehicles, asked Transport Secretary Mark Harper and Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Secretary Michael Gove to enable Londoners, and others across the country, to donate suitable vehicles to Ukraine through scrappage schemes.
Mr. Khan and Mr. Wallace said there’s “a particular requirement” from Ukraine for 4×4 vehicles and emergency service vehicles.
The letter was sent a day after Mr. Gove wrote to Mr. Khan asking what obstacles he believes were preventing him from sending the vehicles.
“As Russia’s barbaric invasion of Ukraine nears its second anniversary, it is vital the UK stands at the forefront of supporting both Ukraine’s government and its people in its valiant fight,” he wrote.
“Given your ULEZ expansion scrappage scheme has been in effect since August 2023, I am surprised that you have not made contact until now given the clear opportunity that your scrappage scheme could provide in allowing roadworthy vehicles to be sent to Ukraine,” he wrote.
The transport secretary said Mr. Gove had written to mayor, “seeking clarity” on “precisely what legal barriers” he believes he’s facing.
“Once you have provided this further information, my officials will of course be ready to support in identifying options to resolve this matter,” he wrote.
Under the ULEZ scrappage scheme, which came into force in August, Londoners with vehicles that fall foul of emission standards can claim up to £2,000 when their non-compliant vehicles are scrapped.
“I was therefore extremely disappointed and surprised to learn that the Greater London Authority was not proposing to support Ukraine through the provision of vehicles that would otherwise be scrapped under the ULEZ scrappage scheme,” Mr. Gove wrote.
“I gather the issue is that you judge that you do not have the statutory footing to do this under the powers granted to you by s30 of the Greater London Authority Act 1999,” he wrote.
The Minister said he believes sending the vehicles to Ukraine would not undermine the aim of improving London’s air quality, and it’s preferable to simply scrapping them.
“I would be very grateful to understand your view on the above and to understand the actual specific legal and/or other obstacles that you are facing,” he wrote.
In response to London Assembly Andrew Boff’s question on sending ULEZ non-compliant vehicles to Ukraine, Mr. Khan said on Nov. 21 that the scrappage scheme is “not the best option” because “regular cars and vans, which make up the vast majority of vehicles being scrapped under the ULEZ scrappage scheme, are not suitable for their current needs.”
Mr. Boff also submitted a question in October asking what bureaucratic rules had been preventing the use of ULEZ scrapped vehicles in Ukraine, but the latest update remains a line published on Oct. 17 that says “officers are drafting a response.”
