Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Paul Blomfield and Thérèse Coffey

Thursday 29th November 2018 Commons Chamber

[Paul Blomfield (Sheffield Central) (Lab)]

7. What steps he is taking to reduce levels of air pollution to legal limits.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Dr Thérèse Coffey)]

The only statutory air quality limit the UK is currently failing to meet is on roadside concentrations of nitrogen dioxide. Members will be aware of our plans to combat air pollution. A £3.5 billion investment has already been set aside, but we are now working with 61 local authorities to tackle their exceedances. I have directed local authorities, including Sheffield, to achieve compliance in the shortest possible time. Some £495 million has been specifically set aside for those councils, but I will take legal action if necessary to make sure that councils do what they need to do.

[Dr Coffey]

The issue of particulate matter has grabbed my attention ever since I became a Minister in this Department. It is soot and dust, in essence, and one of our challenges is that a lot of particulate matter is naturally generated; for example, it is sand or sea salt. There are a number of different issues that we need to tackle, and we will continue to work with local authorities to bring the level of particulate matter down, because the Government are very conscious that we need to make sure that the most vulnerable in society, including children who are still of growing age, get the best possible start in life.

[Paul Blomfield]

The Minister has acknowledged the challenge Sheffield faces. We have multiple sites where nitrogen dioxide levels exceed legal limits and threaten the health of our people. Sheffield’s council has ambitious and innovative plans to tackle the problem, but its resources have been drained by eight years of deep cuts. Will the Minister commit to provide the funds we need to clean Sheffield’s air, and will she meet me and representatives of the council to discuss our plans?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Paul Blomfield and Thérèse Coffey

Thursday 24th November 2016 Commons Chamber

[Paul Blomfield (Sheffield Central) (Lab)]

Traffic hotspots in the Broomhill area of my constituency create unacceptably high levels of nitrogen dioxide. The council is doing what it can, but it is frustrated by the Government on issues such as the deregulation of taxi licensing. We need joined-up action across government, and as the High Court said earlier this month, we need it urgently. So when will the Government produce an effective and comprehensive air quality plan?

[Dr Coffey]

We have accepted the Court’s judgment and we now have a new timescale for revising the plan. We have already said that we would update our plans on the basis of evidence on vehicle emissions. I hope that the hon. Gentleman will contribute to the clean air zones consultation, which was launched on 13 October. More than 100 councils applied for an air quality grant and these decisions will be made in due course.

Business of the House

Debate between Paul Blomfield and Thérèse Coffey

Thursday 26th May 2016 Commons Chamber

[Dr Coffey]

My hon. Friend makes an important case. I think she should join up with the hon. Member for Halifax (Holly Lynch) and my hon. Friend the Member for Bath (Ben Howlett) to secure a debate on the benefits of sport.

[Paul Blomfield (Sheffield Central) (Lab)]

Within the last hour, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills—ignoring the concerns expressed by the Public Accounts Committee, the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee and this House—has announced that it is pressing ahead with its plans to close the BIS policy office in Sheffield. Will Ministers come to the House to explain why they have signed off on a decision that adds to the Department’s operational costs, flies in the face of the Government’s policy of moving civil servants out of London and fatally undermines claims about the northern powerhouse?

[Dr Coffey]

I understand that the Department has issued a written ministerial statement today—[Interruption.] Or it is due to issue one. The decision was reached after consultation with staff and trade unions. It has been a difficult decision, but the Department has chosen to base all policy roles in London by 2018. The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills is sitting on the Front Bench, and I am sure that he will have heard the hon. Gentleman’s concerns.