Diesel drivers to get scrappage cash (but many will miss out)

DRIVERS of some ageing diesel cars are to be offered scrappage payments to encourage them to buy cleaner models, under plans to curb air pollution.

Theresa May has ordered ministers to draw up a scheme to ease the pain of a crackdown on diesel cars that could see some motorists charged to drive into areas hit by pollution.

Details are still being finalised ahead of the publication of the Government’s new clean air strategy next week.

But Government insiders confirmed that the idea of a scrappage scheme has been ‘agreed in principle’. The plan could see some drivers offered up to £ ,000, with half of the money coming from the Government and matching cash from car manufacturers.

But the scheme is likely to be tightly targeted in order to control costs, meaning that many will miss out.

Officials at the Environment Department, the Department for Transport and the Treasury are calculating the costs before ministers make a final decision later this week.

Options include restricting payments to those on low incomes, or limiting them to motorists living in the postcodes suffering the worst air pollution.

Neil Parish, Tory chairman of the Commons environment committee, said ministers were right to limit the scheme to prevent it becoming a ‘middle-class subsidy’ for those who could afford to upgrade to a new car. But he said even a targeted scheme could remove half of older diesels from the roads in areas worst affected by pollution.

‘I know there are concerns about the costs of any scheme,’ he added.

‘That’s why any proposed scheme should be targeted and proportionate. It should be a key weapon in the armoury of the Government in tackling air pollution.’