Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment his Department has made of radiation levels from mobile telephone masts and the effect of those masts on health.

Government policy is that exposures to electromagnetic fields from mobile phone masts and other radio-transmitting equipment should comply with the guidelines on limiting exposure from the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP). This policy is reflected in the National Planning Policy Framework for England, which contains provisions in respect of ICNIRP compliance.

The former Health Protection Agency published a comprehensive review of the evidence prepared by its independent Advisory Group on Non-ionising Radiation (AGNIR) in 2012. The Group’s overall conclusion was that although a substantial amount of research has been conducted in this area, there is no convincing evidence that electromagnetic field exposures below guideline levels cause health effects in either adults or children.

Included within the AGNIR report are many measurements that have been published showing that exposures of the general public living near to mobile phone masts are well within the ICNIRP levels. Public Health England (PHE) advises such exposures are not expected to pose a hazard to the public.

PHE has committed to keeping emerging evidence under review and preparing another comprehensive review when sufficient new evidence has accumulated.