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, whether consideration was given to sending press releases to news media and weather reporters before each of the following ozone episodes: a) 25 and 27 May, b) 25 June, c) 9 July, and d) 13 and 14 August.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We work closely with the Met Office, UKHSA and the third sector during pollution episodes, and are exploring greater engagement with the media and broadcast meteorologists to incorporate air quality information into weather reporting.
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 the latest indicative estimate is for the calendar year in which the UK will comply fully with the National Emissions Ceilings Regulations 2019 obligation for each regulated pollutant.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra produces projections of future emissions in five-year increments from 2025 to 2050. These are not predictions, and so only include firm and funded government policies and assume external factors effecting emissions such as the economy, weather and so on remain stable. These projections are available here: https://naei.energysecurity.gov.uk/air-pollutants/air-pollutant-emissions-data.
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 the table with health advice for each band of the Daily Air Quality Index was removed from the DEFRA UK AIR webpage; and for what reason.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The table setting out health advice for each band of the Daily Air Quality Index (DAQI) was removed from the UK-AIR DAQI webpage in December 2025 as part of the ongoing migration of air quality information from UK-AIR to newer digital services.
The change was made to improve the accessibility, usability and maintenance of air quality information, it occurred in parallel with updates to the DAQI health advice based on advice made by Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants (COMEAP) to the Air Quality Information System (AQIS) review, ensuring that the information provided to the public reflects the latest clinical evidence.
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 people signed up to her Department's email air quality alerts in each calendar month from September 2025 to August 2026 inclusive.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The data for the Check Air Quality Alerts Service is shown below:
Month | Unique area subscriptions - Email |
June 2026 | 89 |
July 2026 | 59 |
Aug 2026 | 525 |
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 assessment she has made of the potential merits of aligning air quality index bands of Moderate, High, and Very High with those of other public health warnings such as the Yellow, Amber, and Red used by the Health Security Agency in their Heat-health Alert service.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government recognises the importance of clear and consistent public health communications. Recent evaluation of the Daily Air Quality Index (DAQI) concluded the DAQI was well understood by the majority of surveyed users, this has been validated by user testing undertaken as part of the development of the new GOV.UK air quality webservices. The evaluation recommended some improvements to the DAQI, including updates to the associated health advice and clearer contextual information which have been incorporated into the ongoing webservice improvements.
Any future consideration of changes to the DAQI including band names, colours or warning terminology would need to be supported by appropriate scientific and medical evidence and informed by user research, including testing how different approaches affect public understanding and action.
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, if she will publish the annual Compliance Assessment Summary for air pollution in the UK for 2025 before 14 September 2026.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
No, the compliance assessment summary will not be published before 14 September 2026.
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 the UK's negotiating position is at the UNECE in relation to Annex IX of the Gothenburg Protocol.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK is playing an active role in the ongoing revision of the UNECE Gothenburg Protocol, including discussions on Annex IX relating to ammonia. The UK’s negotiating position is being developed ahead of the next meeting of the Executive Body for the UNECE Air Convention, which is scheduled for 7-10 December 2026.
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, whether she plans to align the UK Air Quality Regulations (2010) with the EU Directive 2024/2881 on ambient air quality.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government keeps its air quality framework under review, including air quality targets and standards, and will review the Air Quality Strategy by 2028. Our focus is on delivering effective policies across the main sources of emissions to improve air quality and protect public health.