Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Joan Ryan and Thérèse Coffey

Thursday 25th January 2018 Commons Chamber

[Joan Ryan (Enfield North) (Lab)]

T7. In reference to air pollution, not a single area of London meets the World Health Organisation standards for the damaging type of particle known as PM_2.5, and 95% of the capital exceeds the guidelines by at least 50%. The clean air action to which the Minister referred needs resourcing. When will the Government, instead of passing the buck to local and regional authorities, put some money on these fine words?

[Dr Thérèse Coffey]

I think the huge amount of investment in improving transport infrastructure and helping local councils has certainly done that. When it comes to PM_2.5, this issue affects everybody, and that is why it is a key part of what we will be addressing in our clean air strategy. I encourage people to do the right things under the strategy—do not burn wet wood, and think about switching to smokeless coal. These are the kinds of things on which we can take immediate action now, as well as acting on the long-term issue of improving infrastructure.

Air Quality

Debate between Joan Ryan and Thérèse Coffey

Thursday 3rd November 2016 Commons Chamber

[Dr Coffey]

As I have just been reminded, Nissan will continue to manufacture cars in this country; we have Toyota in Derbyshire, in the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for South Derbyshire (Heather Wheeler); and we are already leading the way on ultra-low emission vehicles. Long may that continue.

[Joan Ryan (Enfield North) (Lab)]

My constituency and the borough of Enfield are bound by the M25, the A10 and the north circular A406, so we have much more than our fair share of dirty diesels powering down our roads. Some of our roads, such as Bullsmoor Lane, are practically an extension of the M25. I do not think my constituents are going to feel reassured by what they have heard today; there has been no specific plan and no money identified from the Treasury. We have had nothing to stop the fact that we have kiddies in pushchairs sucking in this poisonous NOx.

[Dr Coffey]

I have outlined the fact that the Treasury has already provided incentives to make some changes and that we are looking at the strategic road network. We have to do this on the basis of the best available evidence. We are updating our modelling, and I hope that we will be able to help Enfield Council in due course.