Birmingham is to introduce road charging under plans drawn up by the Government to cut pollution.

The charges will apply to taxis, buses, coaches, lorries and light goods vehicles such as commercial vans, but not private cars.

Birmingham City Council will have to introduce the charges under laws introduced by the Government.

Officially, the scheme will be known as the introduction of clean air zones.

Vehicles which cause low levels of pollution will be exempt as long as they meet required standards. Those included in the charge are likely to be diesel-powered.

And some emergency vehicles could be hit by the charge.

A Government document setting out details of the scheme said: "We will consider the use of exemptions for certain vehicles (for example, emergency services)."

While the authority will be ordered to introduce clean air zones, it will also be free to impose further charges if it wishes.

Councillor Lisa Trickett, Birmingham's Cabinet Member for Sustainability, said air pollution was a "21st Century public health scandal" which had to be tackled.

Coun Trickett said: "This is a 21st Century public health scandal that we have to do something about. We used to put children up chimneys and accept sewage on the roads – so we cannot accept air pollution in our city.

"We welcome this announcement and are pleased that the Government has listened and acted on out response to the consultation. We are investing £400m into initiatives which promote alternative forms of transport, such as cycling, but will bring forward measures to specifically address air quality issues.

"This as an issue that all cities – not just Birmingham – need to tackle head on. We will also continue to work with key business communities and stakeholders to look at how to address the wider issue of congestion in the city."

Charges will be introduced in 2020 and the city council will hold a consultation to consider which parts of the city should be included and how much the charge should be.

A congestion charge already operates in London, where drivers are charged £11.50 a day for driving a vehicle into the charging zone on weekdays.

The aim is to reduce pollution from vehicles, which official body Public Health England claims leads to 520 extra deaths a year in Birmingham. According to the Department for the Environment, clean air zones will help the West Midlands to meet EU targets for cutting emissions of nitrogen dioxide, which can damage lungs and cause other health problems.

Environment Secretary Elizabeth Truss said: "Our Clean Air Zones are targeted on the largest vehicles, whilst not affecting car owners and minimising the impact on business.

"We want to ensure people can continue to drive into city centres and by targeting action at the most polluting coaches, taxis, buses and lorries we will encourage the use of cleaner vehicles."

The new laws will also require councils in Leeds, Nottingham, Southampton and Derby to introduce similar charges. Birmingham and Leeds will also introduce other measures to cut road pollution, such as park and ride schemes, better signage, changes in road layouts and making it easier to use alternative fuel.

For example, Birmingham will look at ways of powering taxis with liquid petroleum gas.

The Government document also highlighted plans to limit vehicle access to and from Broad Street, which will be restricted to allow only buses and taxis. This is expected to be completed by summer 2016.

Separate proposals for a city centre congestion charge – which would operate on top of clean air zones – were included in Birmingham Council's budget proposals earlier this month. However, council leader John Clancy has said this he will not support these charges.