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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with small and medium-sized businesses in (a) Manchester and (b) Greater Manchester on the financial effect on their businesses of proposed clean air zones and associated air quality measures.

The Government has not had direct discussions with small and medium-sized businesses in Manchester or Greater Manchester about the financial effect of clean air zones.

We assessed the impacts of charging clean air zones on businesses nationally in the technical report accompanying the 2017 UK plan for tackling roadside nitrogen dioxide concentrations.

This did not look at the impacts in Manchester or Greater Manchester in isolation. The UK plan for tackling roadside nitrogen dioxide concentrations and the documents associated with it, such as the clean air zone framework, were consulted on, inviting relevant stakeholders to submit their views.

As set out in the UK plan for tackling roadside nitrogen dioxide concentrations, it is the responsibility of local authorities, as part of their feasibility studies, to assess the impact a local plan could have on individuals and businesses, including through an economic impact assessment and a distributional and equalities impact analysis.

This also includes consultation of relevant stakeholders where appropriate. In the case of Greater Manchester, Transport for Greater Manchester is coordinating work with local authorities to develop their local air quality plan.