Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

Whether he has made an assessment of the implications for his policies of the report of the all-party group on air pollution entitled, Air Quality Strategy to Reduce Coronavirus Infection and its reference to Queen Mary University's research on the biological link between air pollution and coronavirus.

Long-term air pollution exposure is the leading environmental risk to human health. We are working with relevant experts to understand the relationship between air quality and increased risks from COVID-19 based on emerging science. This will be supported by the National Institute for Health Research and UK Research and Innovation joint open call for projects on mitigating the health, social, economic, cultural and environmental impacts of COVID-19.

We note that there is emerging evidence suggesting an association between COVID-19 mortality and exposure to air pollution, but many of the emerging papers are, as yet, generally not peer-reviewed and are of variable quality. Currently, there is no clear evidence to suggest that air pollution has a direct link to the spread or severity of COVID-19 in the United Kingdom.? In April, the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs initiated work to conduct detailed statistical analysis of the United Kingdom data, delivered in collaboration with the Department for Health and Social Care, Public Health England and the Office for National Statistics, and with input from the relevant Air Quality Expert Group and Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollution experts. The work will be published in due course. The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs continues to have extensive discussions with the Department for Health and Social Care and other departments on the relationship between air quality and health.