Homeless charity suspends service due to cost of Birmingham clean air zone charges

Homeless Birmingham, part of Cert UK, uses a van and bus to offer food and other services to homeless people, running from outside the NCP car park at Dale End twice a week.

But the charity has said it will no longer be able to offer the service as it relies on a van – which is classed as Euro 5 rather than Euro 6 – and a bus subject to a £50 per day charge per day.

Ken Lowry, founder of Homeless Birmingham and a trustee of Cert UK, says the charity has looked at every possibility but have found there is no exemption available to them.

He said: “We have been doing it for more than four years. We were helping 350 people per month when we were doing one day a week and are now helping 600 people per month.

“The council is asking us to pay them to do their job.”

The van is used to deliver food, which is passed out to homeless people by a group of around five or six volunteers per session. The bus has been converted to include sections for job searching, hairdressing, and a food bank.

Under the clean air zone charges, anyone driving older higher-polluting cars will have to pay £8 every day they drive in the city centre and anyone driving larger vehicles will have to pay £50 per day.

Mr Lowry says other charities have been affected as well and believes they are being pushed out of the city centre. He is appealing for a donation of a compliant van but has so far been unsuccessful.

A post announcing the suspension of the street kitchen in the city centre was met with shock buy social media users.

Tina Harvey wrote on Facebook: “Disgusting. You are doing a job that shouldn’t need doing.

“You are saving the council thousands by doing something that they should be resolving and yet they can’t forego the charges. Appalling!”

Sheila Arundell wrote: “I’m ashamed to be a Brummie today. The Birmingham City Council should be taken to account for this. I’m so sad for the people that you support so well.”

Francis Farrar wrote: “Birmingham council should be absolutely ashamed of this.”

Councillor Simon Morrall has nominated Cert UK for special recognition from the Lord Mayor.

He said: “I challenged the city cabinet member directly on this when he came to committee back in November 2019, name dropping charities like Certs and they simply weren’t interested.

“I’ve seen first-hand the work Certs do in Birmingham City Centre having been out with them on Christmas day and nominating them for the Lord Mayor’s special recognition.

“I think it’s a massive oversight that this Labour-run council still won’t give exceptions to the third sector like this which risk not only failing our hard working local heroes, but some of most vulnerable people in our city.

“These are all the unintended consequences that we have been telling them about all along.”

A Birmingham City Council spokesperson said in response: “The UK Government confirmed plans for Birmingham’s Clean Air Zone in 2019.

“It was due to go live in January 2020, and has been delayed twice. When it becomes operational on June 1, 2021 it would have been two years since plans were first approved.

“We also estimate that 75 per cent of the vehicles travelling within the clean air zone will be compliant, and therefore not subject to the charge.

“However, we appreciate that some organisations need further time to prepare for the changes, which is why we have a range of exemptions available for people living and working in the zone, as well as businesses based within the zone.

“We also have a range of financial incentives to help workers and SMEs across the West Midlands to upgrade to compliant vehicles. These exemptions followed a public consultation which helped to identify those in need of additional support.”

The clean air zone is being introduced in response to poor air quality in Birmingham which is responsible for 900 deaths per year.