Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of (a) noise and (b) air pollution on public health in densely populated residential areas.

In 2023, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) published the findings from a study that mapped the effects of transport noise on health and wellbeing across England. It was estimated that transport noise in England was responsible for the equivalent of 130,000 healthy life years lost in disability in 2018. The estimates are presented at local authority level to examine the spatial distribution of the health burden. This work was based on methods developed by the World Health Organization, and more information is available at the following link:

https://ukhsa.blog.gov.uk/2023/06/29/noise-pollution-mapping-the-health-impacts-of-transportation-noise-in-england/

Poor air quality is one of the largest environmental risks to public health in the United Kingdom. The mortality burden in 2019 was equivalent to between 29,000 and 43,000 deaths for adults aged 30 years old and over. Some people are more affected because they live in a polluted area or are exposed to higher levels of air pollution in their day-to-day lives. UKHSA is developing an air pollution vulnerability indicator tool that will demonstrate which areas are most at risk from exposure to air pollution. This tool will help health professionals identify areas where interventions are needed most and will contribute to addressing local health inequalities related to air pollution more effectively.