Source · Select Committees · Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee
Recommendation 14
14
Not Addressed
Paragraph: 95
We welcome the Government’s commitment to a green recovery, including bringing forward the ban on...
Recommendation
We welcome the Government’s commitment to a green recovery, including bringing forward the ban on the sale of petrol and diesel cars. This must include a strong focus on improving air quality, especially given the risk that changes in local economies and working patterns might exacerbate existing problems. We also welcome the additional investment from the Government to expand electronic charging infrastructure. The Government must ensure that capacity and coverage is in place across the country, and especially in rural areas, to enable people to switch away from petrol and diesel cars. The Clean Air Strategy is reliant on local action and should therefore be updated not just to reflect the overall impact of the pandemic, but also its differential impact on local economies.
Government response summary AI-generated
The government's response discussed how Clean Air Zones aim to increase fleet turnover, mentioned exploring financial incentives for sustainable change, and highlighted support through the Air Quality Grant Programme and the Business Clean Air Taskforce. However, it did not address ensuring capacity and coverage of electronic charging infrastructure across the country, especially in rural areas, or updating the Clean Air Strategy to reflect the pandemic's impact on local economies.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Paragraph Reference:
95
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government · verbatim extract
Not Addressed
The Clean Air Strategy sets out how the Government will drive and enable greater local action on air pollution. We are currently conducting a major review of the Local Air Quality Management Framework. We will work closely with Local Authorities and their partners throughout the review process to understand the differential impact of the pandemic and reflect this in our new approach. This will include developing a stronger support and capability-building framework to ensure local authorities have the necessary tools to take the action needed locally to reduce people’s exposure to air pollutants and minimise the impact on local economies. Local authorities implementing CAZs can access Clean Air Funding to mitigate the impacts of CAZs. This can include grants for businesses and individuals to upgrade vehicles.
Read the full response on Parliament ↗