Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of poor air quality on marginalised communities.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

This is an issue that Defra takes seriously, which is why we commissioned our independent Air Quality Expert Group (AQEG) to examine the evidence on air pollution disparities across different communities and regions in the UK.

Their report demonstrates spatial differences in pollution emissions and concentrations, evidencing that low income and deprived communities often live in areas with higher air pollution concentrations and higher local emissions, and highlighting links between lower quality of housing and increased exposure to indoor air pollution.

The report provides a number of recommendations to address this complex challenge, which the department is now considering.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress his Department has made on meeting the World Health Organization's 2021 global air quality guidelines.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government is committed to cleaning up our air. We consider the World Health Organization's guidelines when reviewing our own targets and are making progress towards meeting them. We publish our progress against our current targets in the Air Pollution in the UK report each September, and last week we published updated statistics on air pollution concentrations in 2024 based on our monitoring data.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress his Department has made on reducing levels of (a) long-term and (b) short-term exposure to air pollution.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Long-term and short-term exposure to most air pollutants has reduced over the past 20 years. Significant reductions in annual average concentrations of nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter have been achieved over this period. More information on these can be found in our annual Air Quality Accredited Official Statistic publication: Air quality statistics - GOV.UK/

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to deliver a cross-departmental indoor air quality strategy.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department engages with departments from across the Government on ways to reduce the health impacts of both indoor and outdoor air quality. This includes addressing damp and mould in homes through the Government’s action on social housing standards.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs of the potential merits of a UK-wide public health clean air campaign on (a) (i) short-term and (ii) long-term air pollution exposure, (b) sources of (A) indoor and (B) outdoor air pollution and (c) practical advice to reduce personal exposure.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department of Health and Social Care works closely with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs at both an official and ministerial level to tackle air pollution. Ministers from the Department of Health and Social Care and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs most recently met on air quality in May 2025.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with support from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), a has undertaken an Air Quality Information Systems review, the final report of which was published in March 2025. This was a comprehensive review into the way air quality information is communicated to the public, including short-term and long-term exposure, indoor and outdoor air pollution, and provision of advice for the public on how to reduce their exposure and contribution to air pollution.

Following this report, we will work with the UKHSA and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to improve awareness of air pollution and the associated health impacts.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on cross-Government plans to help tackle air pollution.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department of Health and Social Care works closely with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs at both an official and ministerial level to tackle air pollution. Ministers from the Department of Health and Social Care and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs most recently met on air quality in May 2025.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with support from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), a has undertaken an Air Quality Information Systems review, the final report of which was published in March 2025. This was a comprehensive review into the way air quality information is communicated to the public, including short-term and long-term exposure, indoor and outdoor air pollution, and provision of advice for the public on how to reduce their exposure and contribution to air pollution.

Following this report, we will work with the UKHSA and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to improve awareness of air pollution and the associated health impacts.