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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the effect on air quality of (a) road surface wear and (b) road dust resuspension.

Defra is supporting work on how air quality is affected by road surface wear and road dust resuspension by gathering evidence needed and feeding in views to inform effective policies. In July 2018 we published a call for evidence[1] to improve our understanding of the extent and impact of emissions from brake, tyre and road wear and potential ways to address them, to inform future policy development on air quality. This evidence also informed a review led by the Air Quality Expert Group which was published in July 2019[2].

The Department for Transport will shortly commence a research project to understand better the measurement techniques, materials properties and control parameters of non-exhaust emissions from road vehicles. The knowledge developed in this project will inform what policy and legislation may be required to control and reduce these emissions. We will also continue our work with international partners to develop procedures to test and evaluate emissions from tyre and brake wear, with the potential to produce future regulatory standards.

[1] www.gov.uk/government/consultations/air-quality-brake-tyre-and-road-surface-wear-call-for-evidence/outcome/brake-tyre-and-road-surface-wear-call-for-evidence-summary-of-responses

[2] uk-air.defra.gov.uk/assets/documents/reports/cat09/1907101151_20190709_Non_Exhaust_Emissions_typeset_Final.pdf