Lisa Nandy MP: Scheme must be fair for everyone

I know from my inbox and the many conversations I’ve had in recent weeks that people are desperately concerned and have read different things about the scheme.

I want to use this week’s column to help people understand what is happening, why and what I’m doing about it as your MP. In March 2020 the Government sent a legal instruction to all 10 Greater Manchester councils, including Wigan Council, to introduce a Clean Air Zone to tackle harmful levels of air pollution and get levels of nitrogen dioxide down to legal limits across the whole of Greater Manchester by 2024 at the latest.

The scheme will see some residents in Greater Manchester who own certain vehicles being charged a daily rate to use them. The first phase of the scheme begins on May 30 this year and you can find more information about it on www.cleanairgm.com. The 10 local councils have agreed that private cars, mopeds and motorbikes will not have to pay to drive within the Clean Air Zone so most vehicles will not be affected.

However, the most polluting buses, coaches, HGVs and taxis which are not licensed in Greater Manchester (or don’t have a temporary exemption) will be charged a daily rate from this May.

And from next year “light vehicles” like vans, taxis and minibuses will become part of the scheme.

I am deeply concerned about how much people are being asked to pay, especially at a time when energy and shopping bills have gone up and the Government is bringing in a tax hike in just a few months’ time.

Wigan builders, joiners, taxi drivers and delivery drivers fear that they will not be able to afford to continue in their jobs because of this directive.

Many of these people kept our country going during the pandemic and sometimes paid a heavy price for it. While there is some government funding available to help them move to cleaner, compliant vehicles, it is clear it is wholly inadequate.

Protecting the environment matters to me and I have always defended green spaces, cleaner air and action on climate change for the people of Wigan, even when it has pitted me against my own party.

Air pollution has a major impact on everyone’s health from birth to death. It has been linked to cancer, asthma, stroke and heart disease, diabetes, obesity and changes linked to dementia to name but a few conditions.

Every year in Greater Manchester more than 1,200 people die early because of air pollution and I will not accept this as inevitable.

But I will also not accept that individuals and businesses in Wigan should be left stranded by the Government, particularly small businesses and sole traders who work hard and deserve both clean air and a good livelihood. Some of the people struggling with this have recently invested in vehicles – whether vehicles used for work, campervans or horseboxes - which have turned out to be non-compliant.

The road to climate safety is paved with one million jobs. We should be able to protect our environment without costing people their livelihoods. Since the plan was agreed, the cost of upgrading a vehicle has risen by as much as 60 per cent because of inflation, problems with the automotive industry supply chain and the Government’s failure to negotiate a decent Brexit deal.

I recently asked Ministers in Parliament to give people the support that is needed to upgrade their vehicle to be compliant, but they have refused to release the funding we need. Councils cannot change or suspend their Clean Air Zone plans without permission from a Minister in London so I am pleased that the Mayor of Greater Manchester and local council leaders have now asked the Government to pause the second phase of the scheme and consider the impact on the people affected.

I have also written to the Environment Secretary to highlight the kind of problems the scheme causes for Wigan and to ask he works with the mayor and council leaders to resolve them. Wigan powered this country through difficult, dangerous work in the coal mines and we deserve a future that protects both our air and our livelihoods.

I cannot predict what the Government will decide, but I promise I will not rest until we get the changes we need to make the scheme fair and effective for everyone.

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