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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans her Department has to discourage the use of wood-burning stoves.

Around 40% of the UK’s primary emissions of harmful particulate matter come from domestic burning of wood and coal.

To tackle this we are raising consumer awareness about the impact of burning wet wood on health and working with industry to help reduce harmful emissions by encouraging people to shift from using wet/unseasoned wood to dry wood, which can halve emissions of soot and smoke.

We have recently distributed an advice leaflet on open fires and wood burning stoves to all local authorities which includes advice on burning less and the benefits of quality fuels, modern appliances and regular servicing as a means to reduce environmental impact.