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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to reduce levels of particulate air pollution to within the limit set in the World Health Organisation's recommendations in the Prevention of Future Deaths report, published on 21 April 2021.

Our thoughts continue to be with Ella’s family and friends. We will carefully consider the recommendations in the Prevention of Future Deaths report and respond in due course.

We know that air pollution is the single greatest environmental risk to human health, and although air pollution has reduced significantly over the last decade, there is more to do. The World Health Organization has praised our Clean Air Strategy as “an example for the rest of the world to follow”. We know there is a strong case for taking ambitious action on PM_2.5 as it is the pollutant that has the most significant impact on health. We have already taken action on a major source of PM_2.5 by legislating to phase out the sale of house coal, small volumes of wet wood and high sulphur manufactured solid fuels for domestic burning, but further action is needed. This is why we are introducing a duty to set a PM_2.5 target – alongside at least one additional long-term air quality target - in the Environment Bill. We have always been clear that we will consider the World Health Organization’s guidelines for PM_2.5 as part of this process.