Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea 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 a list of (a) date and (b) topics where her Department have emailed a media release to journalists or weather forecasters about air pollution in (i) 2018, (ii) 2019, (iii) 2020, (iv) 2021, (v) 2022 and (vi) 2023.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
All press releases from Defra are published on Gov.uk at News and communications - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea 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 times her Department emailed a media release to journalists in (a) 2018, (b) 2019, (c) 2020, (d) 2021, (e) 2022 and (f) 2023.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
All press releases from Defra are published on Gov.uk at News and communications - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she plans to take to comply with the (a) National Emissions Ceilings Regulations 2018, (b) Environmental Improvement Plan 2023 and (c) Air Quality Standards Regulations 2010 (as amended).
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environmental Improvement Plan sets out the actions we will take to continue improving air quality and meet our legally binding targets.
Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea 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 make an assessment of which internationally recognised (a) guidelines and (b) standards are most effective at protecting the (i) natural and (ii) cultivated environment from air pollution.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a founding signatory to the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Convention on Long Range Transboundary Air Pollution. The International Cooperative Programme on Effects of Air Pollution on Natural Vegetation and Crops and Task Force on Reactive Nitrogen, that sit under the Convention; provide assessments on guidance and standards for natural and cultivated land in relation to air pollution, which the UK considers and adopts where appropriate.
Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential barriers to achieving national targets on air quality.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra assesses progress towards and barriers to achieving national targets for air quality on an ongoing basis.
Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea 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 10 May 2023 to Question 183643 on Public Health, what other types of (a) financial and (b) societal costs are caused by air pollution.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Air pollution can have adverse effects on human health, labour productivity, crop yields, the natural environment, and the built environment. In March 2023 Defra updated its damage costing guidance, which can be found here.
Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea 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 update the Local Air Quality Management Technical Guidance 22 to provide more detailed best practices and case studies to help encourage the use by local authorities of small sensors in local air quality management.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Our Local Air Quality Management Technical Guidance 2022 considers the use of low-cost sensors and refers local authorities to existing certification schemes for them. Defra’s Air Quality Expert Group has also provided advice, made available on UK Air, on the use of ‘low-cost‘ air pollution sensors, setting out the key considerations and issues when using these devices.
In order to offer further guidance to local authorities, Defra launched a project in 2022 to develop a publicly available specification (PAS) on the use of low-cost sensors. This is in effect a code of practice for the use of such systems for measuring outdoor air pollutants and is scheduled to be delivered in late 2023.
Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea 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 is taking steps to provide teachers and parents with air quality information next to schools.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
To improve public awareness about air quality around schools, English councils can apply for funding from Defra's Air Quality Grant. In 2023, 13 local authorities received almost £2.5 million for air quality information projects that included a focus on schools.
The Government’s Gear Change Plan 2020 includes the School Streets and Walk to School Outreach Programme, which continues to support safe active travel, change behaviour and reduce congestion around schools.
Since 2017, Defra has also funded the Clean Air Day - the UK’s biggest air pollution public awareness campaign. Through this campaign a wide range of resources are available for schools to use, designed to help people learn more about the actions they can take to reduce their exposure and contribution to air pollution.
Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea 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 best practice initiatives to reduce air pollution around (a) schools, (b) health care centres and (c) residential areas.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Air Quality Strategy, published on 28 April 2023, is our strategic delivery framework for local authorities and other partners. A range of best practice initiatives to reduce air pollution are highlighted.
To further facilitate the sharing of information and lessons learned between local authorities, Defra has also funded the AQ Hub, where air quality professionals can upload case studies and connect on specific issues of relevance.
Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea 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 has made an assessment of (a) the potential implications for her policies and (b) the potential merits of the practice by Tower Hamlets Council of communicating air pollution levels around (i) building sites and (ii) other temporary areas of high air pollution; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Local Authorities are required to review and assess air quality in their area and are encouraged to provide information on local air quality to the public. How they do this will be a matter for the local authority and in London air quality policy is devolved to the Mayor. Air quality, including during construction, should always be a consideration during the planning process for new developments.