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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the impact of the Greater Manchester Clean Air Zone on jobs in (a) Stockport and (b) across Greater Manchester.

It is for local authorities to develop local plans that will achieve statutory NO ₂ limit values within the shortest possible time. Research from 2012 indicated that the burden associated with a range of pollutants, including NO_2, had a total cost of up to £2.7bn nationally through its impact on productivity. High levels of air pollution will continue to have a significant impact on productivity, alongside its significant impact on public health.

Work on developing the underpinning evidence for the Clean Air Zone (CAZ) has been undertaken by Greater Manchester authorities including an assessment of the effects and impacts on local residents and businesses. This takes account of employment factors. The latest publicly available analysis published by Greater Manchester authorities is available at: https://cleanairgm.com/technical-documents. Greater Manchester have identified in their analysis that there were 224 points predicted to remain in exceedance of NO₂ levels in 2021 without further action, with a maximum predicted in 2022 of 53 µg/m³ NO₂. The Government has provided Greater Manchester authorities with £168 million funding to support delivery of the CAZ.