The LPHCA, as a primary stakeholder on the government’s Joint Air Quality Unit (JAQU) has today (7th April) received the following information from The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) regarding postponing Clean Air Zones (CAZs) until no earlier than January 2021 amid the Covid 19 pandemic:
"We are writing to all of our stakeholders to update you on what is happening with Clean Air Zones in light of the current crisis. We understand that this is a difficult time for everybody, and that many of you are providing vital services to the UK’s response to, or have been significantly impacted by, the Covid 19 pandemic."
The statement, on behalf of Andrew Jackson, Isobel Pastor and Suzanne Trueman, Joint Heads of JAQU, went on to say: "Air pollution is a public health risk and has significant health impacts which can shorten lives.Improving air quality is an important part of creating healthy places for people to live and work. Although the current restrictions on movement may have resulted in short term improvements in air quality both locally and nationally, these are unlikely to endure once the crisis ends.
"The Government remains under a legal obligation to deliver compliance with air quality limits, measured on an annual average basis, in the shortest possible time, and is committed to delivering on this obligation. However, the national response to the current public health emergency has already impacted on a range of public functions at both local and national level and will continue to do so.
"In order to provide certainty to those affected by Clean Air Zones, we will work with local authorities to delay introducing Clean Air Zones until after the Covid 19 outbreak response. We will keep the timetable under review but we expect the introduction of Clean Air Zones to be no earlier than January 2021, and we will keep any delay as short as possible.
"We are in a new and evolving situation which needs a co-ordinated approach to minimise wider societal impacts. The Government is committed to maintaining an open dialogue and working with all of our key stakeholders to understand what work is achievable."
The LPHCA's position on 'going green' and 'air quality' remains that we completely support doing all we can to ensure our industry moves to the cleanest and greenest vehicles. We will continue to engage and work with regulators to ensure that sensible requirements are in place to allow this transition to happen.
We therefore welcome today's decision by DEFRA to postpone the Clean Air Zones until at least January 2021, which is a sensible move following the Coronavirus outbreak, and when we come out the other side we look forward to resuming dialogue with regulators and working for solutions that improve air quality and are fair for the taxi and private hire vehicle industry.