The London Assembly today agreed a formal amendment [1] to the Mayor of London’s draft consolidated budget to mitigate the impact of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) expansion on residents, charities and small businesses in Outer London.
The Mayor’s decision to expand the ULEZ will impose new costs on people in Outer London during the cost-of-living crisis.
This proposal would use £125m unallocated reserves to increase both the scale and scope of the scrappage scheme, bringing in Blue Badge holders, and increasing bus services.
The London Assembly has expressed concerns over unused reserves, including in a letter to the Mayor from the Chairman of the Budget and Performance Committee on 29 September 2022.
As a result of this proposal, tens of thousands of Londoners can be helped with no impact on Council Tax.
Caroline Pidgeon MBE AM, who proposed the amendment, said:
“Our amendment is simple, it is affordable and it will be effective in helping people in Outer London to cope with the ULEZ expansion.
“We propose an amendment to the Mayor’s Budget to mitigate the impact of ULEZ expansion on residents, charities and small businesses in Outer London.
“We propose to use £125m unallocated reserves to increase both the scale and scope of the scrappage scheme, bringing in Blue Badge holders, and to increase bus services, including demand-responsive buses such as Go Sutton Bus.”
The full text of the formal budget amendment is here.
Notes to editors
- The amendment was approved by 5 votes in favour.
- This meeting was the first part of a two-stage budget setting process. At the first stage amendments may be approved by simple majority and must be considered by the Mayor. The Mayor is under a duty to respond to this amendment when he presents his final budget to the Assembly at the 23 February 2023 Mayor’s Question Time meeting; the final budget may be amended by a two-thirds majority.
- The budget setting process is set out in Schedule 6 of the GLA Act 1999 (as amended).
- Caroline Pidgeon AM, who proposed the amendment, is available for interview.
- As well as investigating issues that matter to Londoners, the London Assembly acts as a check and a balance on the Mayor.
For media enquiries, please contact Emma Bowden on 07849 303 897. For out of hours media enquiries, call 020 7983 4000 and ask for the London Assembly duty press officer.