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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if the Government will adopt the World Health Organisation's guidelines on the maximum permissible levels of pollutants, published in September 2021, in the context of research published by the University of Dundee on the impact of air pollution on hospital admissions for respiratory disease among children.

The World Health Organisation Air Quality Guidelines are intended to inform the setting of air quality standards and are not ready-made targets for adoption.

We recently set two new stretching and achievable targets for fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) under the Environment Act 2021, following an evidence-based process informed by the WHO Guidelines.

We are working towards delivering these targets as set out in the Environmental Improvement Plan 2023 and Air Quality Strategy, which will have significant public health benefits, including for children.