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 has taken to enable local authorities to monitor air pollution levels.

The Local Air Quality Management (LAQM) regime requires that local authorities review and assess air quality in their area. When a local authority assesses that air quality objectives may be exceeded, it should carry out appropriate air quality monitoring. Defra provides technical and policy guidance to local authorities to assist them in meeting these LAQM responsibilities. Defra also provides technical support to local authorities via a dedicated local air quality management Helpdesk (phone, email and webpage) and calculation tools to support local authorities in their monitoring and modelling efforts to ensure a consistent approach.