5th April 2024. Three weeks to the day since ULEZ2Ukraine went live. Where has it got to?

I was hoping to update with a photo showing the first delivery of a ULEZ vehicle to a Ukrainian, quite possibly a paramedic, which could have been easily achieved before Easter. But this hasn't happened. In fact not a single vehicle has even made it to Dover. I'm sure that British Ukrainian Aid, the sole body contracted by Transport for London for delivering the scheme, will very soon see fit to publish a detailed update, defined by full transparency, reflecting the fact that British tax payer money is the only reason ULEZ exists, and its Ukrainian element. There's rather a lot at stake. 

So for the purposes of this update I wanted instead to lift my sights to the national 'scrappage to Ukraine' scheme that the government publicly noted they were working on back in January, and which I anticipate will get announced in due course. At the end of the day London's ULEZ is just a pilot. Were Michael Gove to ask me what I'd do differently with a national scheme, this is what I would say:

• Ukraine is under martial law so ipso facto any British vehicle donated to Ukraine is a political act. That means that any scheme has to carve out a temporary or special 'permissive stance' regarding current British charity law (Charities Act, 2011) which prevents political acts by charities, such as giving a vehicle to an army, even if it's the medical division. Such a carve-out would reflect Britain's role as a co-belligerent in Ukraine's struggle to defend the Free World against Russian aggression. It should be possible with Ministerial guidance rather than re-working primary legislation.
• As things stand this constraint is a major weakness to ULEZ2Ukraine, which makes recipients sign a letter of acceptance promising that the vehicle will only be used for a humanitarian purpose. This is not enforceable in practice because it is a hybrid-war. The matter has led to the onerous pursuit of a legal fiction, with charity lawyers the main beneficiaries. It has also resulted in a degree of derision in Ukraine, along the lines of, 'Did you know there's a war on?'
• The established charities are often perceived by on-the-ground actors both in Ukraine and the UK, to be the least efficient. That is also why so many groups helping Ukraine have avoided becoming charities - it's more efficient but also means you can give stuff to the armed forces.
• Next, and this was an idea put to TfL by me but ignored: don't hand out a monopoly. A monopoly exists when one company or charity has complete control over one market, product, or means of production. Monopolies lead to inefficiencies and delays, and at their worst permit incompetence, moral hazard and bad behaviour. What we want instead is a free market within guard rails. That was always my vision for ULEZ2Ukraine, with all the great, grass root groups scooping up vehicles on a first come first served basis and getting them straight over to Ukraine.
• The simplest model for a national scheme might be the establishment of a single company limited by guarantee or CIC, to which anyone can affiliate ranging from a well established group right down to heroic individuals some of whom are literally 'man with van' operations tirelessly delivering aid and materiel to hospitals, orphanages, schools and the armed forces, across Ukraine. There are lots of heroes out there: I've met them on the road. Their specific efficiency is simply astounding compared to larger groups, let alone ponderous charities (not all charities are ponderous). These road warriors would simply laugh at the hold-ups we've already seen with ULEZ2Ukraine. Why not just deliver a vehicle? Look, I can go tonight where's my passport...How hard can it be?
• Any regional or city scrappage scheme (Scotland we're watching you...) related to an Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ), Low Emission Zone (LEZ), Clean Air Zone (CAZ) or Zero Emission Zone ZEZ) should pursue a Ukrainian variant for as long as the war continues. To maximise efficiencies it should sit atop whatever machinery is in place anyway: the donor fills out the online forms to achieve eligibility. They then go to the scrap route or the 'donate to Ukraine' route.
• The Ukraine bit of that could be as little as entering the Vehicle Registration Mark (VRM) because the vehicle can be assessed from the MOT record already provided by the open-source government MOT checker. Don't get bogged down in GDPR concerns where there need be none.