No national scrappage plan for old diesel cars

DIESEL owners will not be offered a national scrappage scheme for polluting cars.

The idea had been floated as a way of cutting illegal levels of air pollution. But yesterday the Government published details of its air quality plan without such a measure.

‘We are not proposing to take forward a national scrappage scheme at this time,’ said the Department for the Environment documents.

Councils will be able to submit bids for a share of £220million, which they could use for park-and-ride schemes, concessionary travel and bus improvements. However, the Government said local authorities might consider financial incentives for drivers to scrap diesel cars.

Greenpeace accused ministers of a ‘tyre-burning U-turn’ and ‘passing the buck’. Spokesman Morten Thaysen said the move would have taken polluting cars off the road while helping drivers who ‘bought dirty diesels on a false prospectus’.

Client Earth’s Simon Alcock said: ‘This is a pitiful response from the Government, which is yet again shirking its responsibility to clean up our country’s air pollution.’