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South London domestic abuse victims ‘won’t be able to get help’ after ULEZ expansion
A woman from South East London who runs a group for women who have suffered domestic abuse has said Sadiq Khan’s planned expansion of the capital’s ultra low emission zone (ULEZ) will leave some of those who use the group unable to receive the support they desperately need. Maxine McCausland, 42, – a victim herself – runs the Kaleidoscope Women’s Support Group from Emmanuel Church in West Wickham, where women come for a one-to-one domestic abuse support service.
But she says once the ULEZ is expanded, which would see those driving non-compliant cars (broadly pre-2005 petrol and pre-2015 vehicles) pay a £12.50 daily fee, up to six of those who meet with Ms McCausland will not be able to afford to travel. This is due to the fact that, after undergoing abusive relationships, they drive cheaper, older and diesel cars, which are their “lifelines”.
The women, Ms McCausland added, either do not qualify for the scrappage scheme or would not be able to replace their cars with the money they would be given. The victims live in East and South East London (Dartford, Sevenoaks, Croydon ), and public transport is also not an option for some due to anxiety and past traumas.
READ MORE: North London dad says ULEZ expansion will ‘rip his life apart’ as he won’t be able to see his daughter as often
Ms McCausland said: “I set it up, because I couldn’t find any support for myself. So I thought I’d start my own group. It’s a nonprofit organisation.
“[The number of people who attend] varies. Sometimes we can have 12, or more. Sometimes we’d have four or five. It always varies.
“I’ve had a couple of phone calls from people that haven’t been to the group yet but are worried about how they’d get here, and they’re adamant they can’t get here. We’ve got some from Dartford, Sevenoaks, Croydon. So, some from other places, some are local.
“They’ll be forced not to be able to come into the community to get the support they need. Because there’s a lack of support for women, you know, for domestic abuse. Anyway, that’s why I started to start with, and I’ll just think that that [the ULEZ extension] will just not have a good impact on their mental health.
“They won’t be able to access the support that they basically really need – a one to one and one to one support.”
Christina Calderato, TfL’s Director of Strategy and Policy, said: “London has made significant progress over the last six years in improving air quality, but it sadly remains the case that thousands of Londoners die prematurely each year as a result of toxic pollution. Children are growing up with stunted lungs and thousands of people in our city are developing life-changing illnesses due to pollution, such as cancer, lung disease, dementia and asthma.
“The London-wide ULEZ is vital in tackling the triple challenges of air pollution, the climate emergency and congestion, and will help millions more people breathe cleaner air. We are already seeing 90 per cent of cars driving across outer London on an average day complying with the standards and expect this to be even higher when the scheme goes live. Those outside the London boundary will also benefit, with drivers outside of the capital shifting to cleaner vehicles that meet the standards.
“To help people make the green transition the Mayor has provided scrappage grants at each stage of the ULEZ’s development since 2019. Ahead of the zone expanding London-wide, the Mayor has funded London’s biggest ever scrappage scheme worth £110m.
“The scheme is supporting London based small businesses, sole traders and charities, disabled Londoners and those on lower incomes in replacing, or in some cases retrofitting, their older, more polluting vehicles with greener options ahead of the expansion. From July, eligibility will expand to include major new support for families, with tens of thousands of Londoners in receipt of child benefit able to apply.
“The scheme will also include all small businesses in London. There is no need for drivers to purchase a brand new vehicle, affordable compliant vehicles are available, with Euro 4 petrol vehicles from after 2005 being compliant.
“We recognise the difficult situation that those using these services are in, and we are happy to meet with Maxine to discuss the options open to those she supports.”
A spokesperson for the Mayor of London said: “The Mayor has been clear that the decision to expand the Ultra Low Emission Zone London-wide was not an easy one, but necessary to tackle toxic air pollution. Around 4,000 Londoners die prematurely each year due to air pollution, children are growing up with stunted lungs and thousands of people in our city are developing life-changing illnesses, such as cancer, lung disease, dementia and asthma.
“Sadiq has listened to Londoners and fully understands the concerns that some individuals and groups have about the expansion, which is why he introduced his £110m scrappage scheme to help eligible Londoners, including charities and those on low incomes, to replace or retrofit their old polluting vehicles. He has announced that the scrappage scheme eligibility is extending to include all those receiving child benefit, small businesses and charities in the capital, from the end of July, so tens of thousands more Londoners are now eligible to apply for cash grants of up to £2,000 to switch to a cleaner vehicle, but not may realise it.
“The Mayor has also repeatedly called on the Government to fund a targeted national scrappage scheme or provide additional funding to London as it has done for other cities implementing Clean Air Zones, including Birmingham, Bristol and Portsmouth.”
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