Business Secretary Lord Mandelson has has revealed, in his speech to Labour’s conference, that the government is to extend the car scrappage scheme. He said the scheme, which started in May and gives consumers £2,000 off a new car if they trade in one at least 10 years old, was running out of money.
He said “we cannot do everything but that does not mean doing nothing” and said the scheme would be extended to cover 100,000 more cars and vans.
The initiative had been due to end in February, or when the £300m the government has allocated towards the scheme runs out, whichever happens first.
In his speech to delegates in Brighton Lord Mandelson said: “There are encouraging signs that the economy is picking up. But recovery remains fragile and uncertain, especially in manufacturing and one of its cornerstones, the car industry.”
As well as announcing the extension of the scheme he pledged the government would “stand behind Vauxhall workers in Ellesmere Port and Luton where the workforce themselves have been the main driver of change. And the same goes for Jaguar Land Rover too”.
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