In the 2020 consultation, 76% of businesses and 79% of taxis stated they had been financially impacted by COVID-19. This included increased levels of debt, reduced savings and lower turnover. Many stated any savings had been used and felt their credit rating had decreased. There were comments asking for the proposals to be delayed and that COVID-19 had led to improvements in air quality, so the CAZ may not be required.
In response to that the Final GM Clean Air Plan has made a number of changes to address these issues and support businesses, organisations and individuals to upgrade their non-compliant vehicles.
Many of the final grant amounts have increased, and the options for vehicle upgrades and retrofits have increased. As well as this, temporary exemptions have been introduced to the final plan to provide longer for some vehicle owners to upgrade their vehicles, whilst still making sure the Clean Air Plan meets compliance in the shortest possible time.