Mother of air pollution victim, 9, says ministers should step in to boost London Ulez scrappage scheme
The mother of a nine-year-old girl whose death was partly caused by air pollution is calling on the Government to help people switch into cleaner cars.
The High Court on Friday ruled that an expansion of ultra-low emission zone (Ulez) to outer London is lawful, rejecting a challenge from five Conservative-run councils.
The scheme is scheduled to come into force from 29 August and mainly applies to petrol cars made before 2006 and diesel cars made before 2016 – meaning those driving the higher polluting vehicles will pay £12.50 every day they enter the zone.
Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah, who lived near the South Circular Road in Lewisham, south-east London died in 2013 following an acute asthma attack.
She became the first person in the UK to have air pollution listed as a cause of death on her death certificate, as coroner Philip Barlow found she had been exposed to “excessive” levels of air pollution.
Following the ruling, her mother, Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah, told i she was relieved that “now the roads that contributed to my daughter’s death are finally going to be in the Ulez zone”.
She said: “We just hope that the Government helps people to get out of their polluting cars. I think generally people want to change. Some can afford it, but not everyone can, and the Government needs to help them.”
The Ulez scheme has been controversial as those against it say it will hit poorer families and those who are most vulnerable the hardest in a cost of living crisis. Others say reducing air pollution is a necessity as it is known to exacerbate asthma and lung conditions, and in some cases, stunt children’s lung growth.
Ms Adoo-Kissi-Debrah questioned why the Government had not yet contributed to London’s £110m scrappage scheme, which offers grants to people on certain benefits to trade in their non-compliant cars.
The scheme means eligible people can trade in their old cars in return for £2,000, or get up to £1,000 for scrapping a motorcycle. For wheelchair-accessible vehicles, there is a payment of £5,000 to scrap or retrofit to the Ulez standard. Eligible drivers who trade in a van can receive between £5,000 and £9,500.
But some have said the scheme does not go far enough and doesn’t include enough people who need help.
Ms Adoo-Kissi-Debrah said it was important Ulez was expanded across the city, because “dirty air is a pandemic”.
She said: “My heart again goes out to all the parents, who before Ella’s death, have lost children to asthma, and we know that during the first lockdown, no child died in the UK from asthma, so we need to keep going.
“This is about the lives of children, and for today, can we put the politics aside and think about the quarter of a million children in London, who still have asthma now?”
Ms Adoo-Kissi-Debrah said 1.1 million children suffered from asthma across the UK, and that she hoped other cities would consider the policy.
She said: “There will be mayors all over the world looking to see what will happen in this judgment because currently there are 250 low-emission zones in Europe, and I hope they are encouraged by it.
“It’s not just about London, it’s about cities all over the world.”
Asthma + Lung UK chief executive, Sarah Woolnough, said the Ulez scheme had successfully lowered levels of nitrogen dioxide in the air, which could mean more Londoners would experience the health benefits.
“Road transport is the leading cause of air pollution in our towns and cities. For people living with lung conditions, such as COPD and asthma, harmful pollutants trigger symptoms including breathlessness, coughing and wheezing, and in more severe cases these flare-ups can result in hospitalisation. The Ulez expansion is a positive step towards cleaner air across the city, allowing Londoners to breathe more easily.”
A spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: “Responsibility for air quality is devolved to the mayor of London and funded separately.
“It is for the mayor to consider the impact his initiatives in London have on drivers and whether a scrappage scheme is needed, and then budget appropriately. The Government has committed over £6bn to secure the long-term future of London’s transport network.”
