Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has conducted an economic impact study on the effect of clean air zones on businesses in (a) Birmingham and (b) the West Midlands.

The Government assessed the impacts of charging in clean air zones on businesses nationally in the 2016 impact assessment. This did not look at the impacts on Birmingham or the West Midlands in isolation.

The UK plan for tackling roadside nitrogen dioxide concentrations is clear that local authorities must conduct feasibility studies with robust economic impact assessments, following the HMT Green Book approach. The feasibility studies being produced by local authorities will look at these impacts at a local level.