Asked by: Barry Gardiner (Labour - Brent West)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what warnings were issued to military personnel on endurance or other training exercises about air pollution in the UK between May and August 2026 inclusive.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The single Services have reported no air quality or air pollution incidents between May and August 2026 that required specific warnings or restrictions to be issued to military personnel undertaking endurance or other training exercises in the UK.
Asked by: Barry Gardiner (Labour - Brent West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many sign ups there have been to the new air quality alert service since the 30 July 2026.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
From 1 August 2026 to midday on 8 September 2026, there have been 2652 unique sign-ups to the new air quality alert service.
Asked by: Barry Gardiner (Labour - Brent West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 7 September 2026 to UIN 25951, whether additional local monitoring data gathered by cities and towns in England includes monitoring data collected by local authorities and published in their Annual Status Reports in fulfilment of their duties to monitor and assess local air quality.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The additional local monitoring data referred to in the Answer of 7 September 2026 may include monitoring data collected by local authorities in fulfilment of their local air quality duties, including data reported through Annual Status Reports. The precise scope of local authority monitoring data to be incorporated is still being finalised as the new projections are developed and will depend on data availability and modelling requirements.
Asked by: Barry Gardiner (Labour - Brent West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which reporting zones are expected to show a deterioration in air quality in 2025; and for which pollutants.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are in the process of completing the assessment of compliance under the Air Quality Standards Regulations (2010) and we will publish the full results in due course in line with our reporting commitments. These Results will include details of the status of air quality across all UK zones for key pollutants.
Asked by: Barry Gardiner (Labour - Brent West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many deaths were attributable to ozone, fine particular matter (PM2.5) and PM10 during each of the heatwaves between May and August 2026 inclusive.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) estimates that the mortality burden of air pollution is linked to 29,000-43,000 deaths annually. The ONS does not produce estimates of the number of deaths attributable to ozone, PM2.5 or PM10 during specific heatwave periods.
Asked by: Barry Gardiner (Labour - Brent West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she plans to answer Question 26883.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 9 September to PQ UIN 26883.
Asked by: Barry Gardiner (Labour - Brent West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she plans to answer Question 25949.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
A reply is being prepared and will be issued as soon as possible.
Asked by: Barry Gardiner (Labour - Brent West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what level of rainfall above which a water company such as Southern Water has been permitted by the Environment Agency to discharge storm sewage.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
There is no fixed rainfall threshold for a storm overflow to discharge. Storm overflows may only operate as permitted, with compliance assessed case-by-case against site-specific rainfall, flow and network conditions.