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ULEZ and The Impact on Charities.
ULEZ is adversely impacting our charities and hampering their work if you like me want to see charities gain the support they need to continue their activism read on…
Whilst the goal of the Ultra-Low Emission Zone or ULEZ zone was to reduce the level of harmful toxic air within a given area. There has been an unmistaken impact of ULEZ on families financially as well as charities which serve their communities. Now whilst clean air is something that we all want for our families, there are still times where the car is crucial whether it be for key works serving the community.
How Charities Support the Community:
Although the public transport system in London is highly effective it is still unable to meet all the needs of its community and is now spilling over into adverse effects on charities. Providing aid for the most vulnerable in society is something that should be a top priority for any local authority and ensuring that works can be taken with the fewest barriers is essential. Often due to the flexibility and innovation of charities and businesses many in our communities have these needs met not just by the public sector but by the private sector.
The Impact of ULEZ
This is where the ULEZ zone particularly impacts the vulnerable, now although some businesses in London and TFL will be able to update their vehicles to reflect the new policies and therefore reduce their emissions charities and small businesses will not be able to do this. This will effectively add greater costs to these organisations. Organisations like Dogs on the Street who are a small charity which serve the homeless residents of London and their pets are one such organisation offering tailored services that these citizens otherwise would not be able to afford. The charity has bespoke services and have specialist equipment on their vehicles to offer these services to the communities and modernising these vehicles will add significant costs to their operation. To adapt to this change that means the donation and fundraising efforts are going towards paying the ULEZ fees rather than into providing crucial support for the residents and their pets.
Scrappage Program Flaws
So, what about the scrappage scheme now whilst the scrappage program offered grant funding for charities or businesses in order to conform with the new charges before they came in the problem lies with purpose refitted vehicles. Specifically having mobile grooming, veterinary and general care vehicles have additional expenses and whilst the grant would go some way to meet these costs it would barely cover the cost of acquisition of a vehicle, and this would often be of an older used model where the battery will also have shown some wearing unlike traditional fuel vehicles which have a longer service life. This scheme has also been closed to new applicants which limits charities making claims for grant funding where the two-year window may have often not allowed the organisation to raise the necessary funds to replace the fleet of specialist vehicles. This two-year window also came at a time when many of the organisations were working flat out to deal with added pressures of Covid-19.
Actions that can be Taken
Now, myself and other activists are calling on the Mayor of London to look again at how his ULEZ zones are still impacting some of the most vulnerable in his community by increasing the financial burden on charities. That is why we are collectively calling on him to review his ULEZ policy for charities who may have been unable to refit or scrap vehicles under the previous scheme. Reopen the scheme to allow for further funding to support specialist sourcing of new efficient vehicles or to provide exemptions. The support for Dogs On The Street from Neil Garratt and Shaun Bailey has been hugely refreshing to see London Assembly members standing up for this charity and others.
Further Reading
https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/scrappage-schemes?cid=scrappage-scheme
https://dogsonthestreets.org/london/
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jan/05/londons-ultra-low-emission-zone-good-or-bad-idea
https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/ulez-checker-zone-map-charge-2021-b1944620.html
https://www.london.gov.uk/what-we-do/environment/pollution-and-air-quality/mayors-ultra-low-emission-zone-london
Remember contact your London Assembly members and add pressure onto the Mayor.
https://www.london.gov.uk/people/assembly
Protest are they for Change or just Unnecessary Disruption:
One of the core elements of a democracy is our right to free speech and a right to protest however, although we have these rights not all campaigns are treated equally. Not all causes are adopted by the public will and therefore just because a minority can does that mean they should.
The protests:
In the news we have seen an increase in protestors taking direct action on the M25 with the aim to disrupt drivers to garner media attention to influence change. With the aim to improve insulation of Britains instead of warming hearts the disruption caused has left protestors out in the cold.
Now I am not against protest or the power of the individual as many of our key moments have come from a small number but many methods are flawed. The 3.5% rule as an example is a principle that so long as 3.5% of the population agree with an action engaging this can influence government decisions. Now to put this into a context the insulate britain protests are headed by a small minority numbering at most a hundred from evidence. Extinction rebellion was in the 1000s and in Leicester BLM had 4000 individuals.
Now 3.5% of UKs population is 2391190 so many of these protests are a long way off of the influential minority.
So how can you have an impact?
You must take the population with you or offer a sensible alternative. Many individuals of these groups often scoff when people question their actions or intentions telling people to do their own research but this does nothing but forces people away from their cause. Campaigners that share research provide resources and are able to work with other groups are often more anecdotally more successful with their campaigns. Looking at campaigns such as Anatonias Law for care home reform, the moves made my the Pet Theft Reform team, Finns law, Tuks Law as well as larger organisations to influence changes. These campaigns however have benefited from the benefit of research they then add in the emotional component which brings people with them.
Take some of Insulate Britains own points:
Their targets of getting central government to change insulation when planning is a district or unitary council issue. A points they are raising is about new homes being built to a standard, yet they do not focus on shoddy developers with documented evidence of cut corners on their builds. They have no strategy to inform house buyers of their rights so they can challenge developers or to work with communities to block inadequate development taking place. This however is also difficult to achieve when they have no firm targets to influence house building targets. So why are they not targeting councils to adopt a higher standard of housing or working with HORNET to influence changes to house building’s standards tackling property developers as they did with leaseholds and as they are still working on with Fleecehold properties.
Issues such as fleecehold properties are an issue that planners (civil servants) do not want to tackle pressure on elected officials in the right way would help to lobby for change. Or better yet get involved to influence the change on the doorstep. The second point they are campaigning for is for government to pay for insulation of old homes to be levelled up to a standard, but without a clear standard this will always be difficult. The green grant scheme had this option but wasn’t well adopted and if the government bring it back in as an incentive businesses or suppliers up the cost or it becomes another tax burden.
The other reason why many have little sympathy for this particular cause however is strategies are already in place to tackle it. There are green grants households can apply for on existing dwellings particularly for the less well off in society. However rather than promote this change and encourage people to take up the scheme by going to the following link: Simple Energy Advice check your eligibility and see if you can get help.
https://carrcenter.hks.harvard.edu/files/cchr/files/CCDP_005.pdf
https://www.ncvo.org.uk/policy-and-research/campaigning-policy
https://www.gov.uk/improve-energy-efficiency
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/free-cavity-loft-insulation/