According to the Clean Air Zones Central Services (Fees) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2026, the fee payable for a processed clean air zone payment in England will double from £2 to £4 from 1 September 2026. The same instrument also extends the period during which charging authorities remain liable to pay that fee to the Secretary of State, with the end date moved to 31 March 2031. For Policy Wire readers, the immediate point is that this is not a change to the legal basis of clean air zones themselves. It is a change to the administrative charging framework behind the national central payment service used to process certain clean air zone payments.
The legislation amends regulation 3 of the 2020 Regulations. In the operative text, regulation 3(2)(b) is changed so that the year "2027" becomes "2031", and regulation 3(3) is changed so that the fee of "£2" becomes "£4". The Explanatory Note states that the fee applies where a payment under a charging scheme is processed by clean air zones central services provided by, or on behalf of, the Secretary of State. In those cases, the relevant charging authority, rather than the individual motorist, is liable to pay the fee to central government.
In practical terms, this means the amendment is aimed at the relationship between the national processing service and the public bodies operating charging schemes. Where those bodies continue to rely on the central service, each processed payment from September 2026 will carry a higher unit cost. That distinction matters. The instrument does not itself set a new clean air zone charge for drivers, alter local exemptions, or revise vehicle compliance rules. Its legal effect is narrower: it raises the back-office fee attached to payments handled through the central system and keeps that charging arrangement in place for longer.
For charging authorities in England, the main operational consequence is financial planning. A move from £2 to £4 per processed payment is a material increase in transaction cost, particularly for authorities handling high payment volumes through the national service. Local scheme managers, finance teams and contract leads are therefore likely to review projected transaction volumes, budget assumptions and any local cost-recovery arrangements before the new rate takes effect on 1 September 2026. The instrument does not prescribe how authorities respond; it changes the fee baseline they must work from.
The statutory route is also notable. The Regulations were made under powers in Schedule 4 to the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, with Treasury consent required under the same framework. The text records that the Treasury consent was given by Taiwo Owatemi and Lilian Greenwood, acting as Lords Commissioners of His Majesty’s Treasury, on 24 June 2026. The instrument was then signed on behalf of the Secretary of State for Transport by Keir Mather, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, on 29 June 2026. It was also subject to the draft affirmative procedure, meaning it was laid before Parliament and approved by resolution of each House before being made.
The territorial wording follows a standard statutory pattern but is still worth decoding. The Regulations extend to England and Wales, yet they apply in England only. In effect, the measure sits on the statute book across both jurisdictions for legal drafting purposes, while its substantive operation is confined to English clean air zone charging arrangements. That matters for readers tracking devolution and territorial scope. The amendment should be read as an England-only change to the fees framework supporting clean air zone payment processing, rather than a UK-wide or Great Britain-wide revision.
The Explanatory Note also records that no impact assessment has been produced because the government considers the instrument to have no impact, or no significant impact, on the costs of business, charities or the voluntary sector. That indicates the measure is being treated primarily as an administrative and public-sector charging change rather than a wider regulatory burden on private operators. Even so, the real-world effect for public authorities is clear enough. From 1 September 2026 until 31 March 2031, any relevant charging authority using the clean air zones central service for processed payments will face a £4 fee per transaction. For those overseeing local clean air charging schemes, that is the figure that now needs to be built into medium-term operating assumptions.