Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the payment system of Birmingham's Clean Air Zone which does not alert drivers when they have entered the zone prompting them to pay.

We have not commissioned an autopay system because the Clean Air Zone payment service is proposed to be decommissioned once compliance and a permanent improvement in air quality has been achieved.

We have had to balance many factors in designing the Clean Air Zone payment service, including the legal imperative to act in the shortest possible time. Autopay would have added to the technical complexity.

The Clean Air Zone Framework makes it clear that “as a minimum requirement, there must be traffic signing strategies in place along major access routes and at entry points to clearly delineate the zone, and alternative routes for those who wish to divert around it.” More than 300 signs have been installed by Birmingham City Council on the road network surrounding the boundary of Birmingham’s Clean Air Zone to inform drivers they are approaching the zone.