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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if his department will provide information his Department on the 2020 bias adjustment factor for the Dunstable air quality management area to enable Central Bedfordshire Council to produce the 2020 air quality figures for that area.

In January, Defra invited local authorities to complete a short survey on the impact of Covid-19 on their local air quality management (LAQM) activities to inform the publication of supplementary Covid-19 guidance on LAQM duties for English local authorities for the upcoming reporting year.

The response from local authorities indicated that on the whole, submissions of local bias studies into the national survey were unaffected. This informed the decision to continue the release of the national bias adjustment factors within the usual cycle. As a result, the first round of National Diffusion Tube Bias Adjustment Factors for 2020 diffusion tube monitoring data were released in April 2021 and local authorities were notified. The national bias adjustment factors are available at https://laqm.defra.gov.uk/bias-adjustment-factors/national-bias.html.

Central Bedfordshire Council should therefore have the bias adjustment information they require in order to process 2020 air quality data for the Dunstable air quality management area. Should the council require further advice they should contact the LAQM Helpdesk.

Defra provides technical support to local authorities via a dedicated LAQM Helpdesk (phone, email and webpage) to support local authorities in their monitoring and modelling efforts to ensure a consistent approach.