ULEZ claims and counter claims checked: Tax reduction, air high quality and exemptions for ‘locations of worship’

The enlargement of the Ultra Low Emission Zone has led to various claims in regards to the controversial charging scheme within the capital.

The ULEZ enlargement has created a political dividing line, with Conservatives utilizing it as a stick to which to beat Labour and Mayor of London Sadiq Khan.

Sky News has had a have a look at among the claims which have been made in regards to the zone.

Will the price of ULEZ be handed onto clients of tradespeople from outdoors London?

Steve Tuckwell, the Conservative MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip, claimed tradespeople, together with builders and gardeners will go the price of the ULEZ onto individuals in Greater London now within the zone.

However, sole merchants and staff are in a position to declare tax reduction on the ULEZ cost if their journey is for work.

The sum of money somebody will save will rely on a wide range of elements.

So the complete £12.50 price of the ULEZ doesn’t should be handed onto clients if they’re utilizing staff travelling in non-compliant autos.

But this doesn’t essentially imply no prices can be handed on, and costs might go as much as compensate.

Will ULEZ solely have “minor to negligible effect” on air high quality?

Transport Secretary Mark Harper instructed Sky News that the ULEZ enlargement may have a “minor to negligible effect” on air high quality.

This element comes from an influence evaluation carried out for and offered to Mr Khan.

Specifically, it instructed the proposed enlargement would have a minor influence on Greater London assembly its World Health Organization (WHO) targets for nitrogen dioxide, and a negligible influence on advantageous particulate (PM2.5) targets.

The similar influence evaluation said the enlargement may result in a average enchancment of nitrogen oxides as an entire, and a minor enchancment of PM2.5 and barely bigger particulates (PM10) when taken as an entire.

Read extra:
Where the expanded Greater London zone will cowl
Schemes together with ULEZ have made £418m since 2021
Police launch picture of anti-ULEZ suspect

Are visits to locations of worship exempt?

Full Fact has evaluated various claims doing the rounds in regards to the ULEZ.

One was a declare posted on X – previously often known as Twitter – which said that journeys to sure locations of worship could be exempt from the ULEZ cost.

This is just not true, with Full Fact saying the picture claiming to cite Mr Khan within the social media submit “highly likely to be fake”.

Full Fact was instructed by Transport for London {that a} non permanent exemption was in place till 26 October 2025 for “minibuses used for community transport by a range of not-for-profit organisations, which could include transport to a place of worship, among other activities.”

This contains “educational, religious, social welfare reasons, or other activities that benefit the community” for autos that carry eight to 16 individuals.

Did the federal government drive Sadiq Khan to increase the ULEZ?

There have been claims that the federal government – particularly then transport secretary Grant Shapps – pressured the London mayor to increase the ULEZ.

This stems from a letter Mr Shapps despatched to Mr Khan in 2020 in regards to the capital’s funds because the COVID pandemic gripped the world.

This letter referred to the “the immediate reintroduction of the London Congestion Charge, LEZ [Low Emission Zone] and ULEZ and urgently bring forward proposals to widen the scope and levels of these charges, in accordance with the relevant legal powers and decision-making processes.”

Both the Department for Transport and the mayor’s workplace confirmed to Full Fact that this was not tantamount to an order to extend the ULEZ to embody all of Greater London.

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The authorities said it was referencing the enlargement of the ULEZ to the North and South circulars, which happened in October 2021.

The mayor’s workplace mentioned the letter from the federal government was “not specific” a couple of additional enlargement to ULEZ.

It did add that the federal government proposed increasing the scale of the Congestion Charge zone, however this proposal was later dropped.