Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to improve air quality around schools.
Answered by Robbie Moore
Government provides support to local authorities to deliver School Streets and funds a range of school interventions including the Walk to School Outreach Programme, which give children and their families safe active travel choices and reduce congestion around schools.
To tackle air pollution around schools, local councils have powers to issue Fixed Penalty Notices for vehicle idling.
Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Office of Health Improvement and Disparities data on D01 - Fraction of mortality attributable to particulate air pollution (new method), if she will publish the annual number of deaths attributable to long term exposure to total concentrations of fine particulate matter for each year that data is available.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
The estimates for the fraction of mortality attributable to particulate air pollution, measured as PM2.5, are published every year. Data for 2022 will be published later this year. The fraction of mortality attributable to particulate air pollution indicator represents the percentage of annual deaths from all causes in those aged 30 and older attributed to PM2.5.
Annual numbers of deaths attributable to particulate air pollution are not calculated each year. The published estimate for England for 2019 was 26,000 to 38,000 deaths for adults aged 30 and over. For the United Kingdom, the published estimate for 2019 was 29,000 to 43,000 deaths for adults aged 30 and over.
Oct. 23 2023
Source Page: Air pollution - health impacts: summary research findingsFound: Air pollution - health impacts: summary research findings
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, if he will take steps to ensure measurable commitments to improve indoor air quality are included in the forthcoming Pandemic Accord.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK recognises that improving indoor air quality is an important public health issue. However, as the Pandemic Accord aims to establish a high-level framework for pandemic prevention, preparedness and response, we have instead pursued action on this issue in other multilateral settings. For example, at last year's UN General Assembly, the UK worked with international partners to advocate for action on indoor air quality during the High-Level Meeting on Universal Health Care. The UK supported reference being made to the health impacts of indoor air pollution in the HLM's political declaration, which was subsequently adopted on 5 October 2023.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to reduce the impact of (a) incinerators and (b) air pollution on (i) Black and (ii) Asian communities.
Answered by Robbie Moore
The Government recognises there is more to do to protect all people in our society and the environment from the effects of air pollution. This is why we are taking the significant and wide-ranging action to drive improvements to air quality as set out in our Environmental Improvement Plan 2023.
This action is supported by the Environment Act 2021, which makes sure that local authorities have the necessary powers to tackle emissions collaboratively in their local area to improve air quality. Through the Act we also introduced two new targets for fine particulate matter, the pollutant most damaging to human health, setting a maximum annual mean concentration target and a population exposure reduction target. This dual-target approach will improve public health for all by tackling the highest concentrations whilst ensuring all areas benefit from continuous improvement.
We continue to support local authorities in England to take action in their communities through the Local Air Quality Grant, which has awarded around £53 million to almost 500 projects since 2010
With regards to incinerators, in England all large waste incinerators cannot operate unless issued with an environmental permit by the Environment Agency (EA). The EA will only grant a permit if they are satisfied that the proposal would not give rise to any significant pollution of the environment or harm to human health, irrespective of the location of the plant. The EA also consults the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) on every permit application they receive. The UKHSA’s position relating to incineration is that modern, well-run and regulated municipal waste incinerators are not a significant risk to public health
Under their permit, the operator must comply with the Best Available Techniques (BAT) conclusions for waste incineration. These BAT conclusions were reviewed and updated in 2019, introducing new standards which deliver an improved level of environmental protection. This includes even lower Emission Limit Values (ELVs) for oxides of nitrogen, particulates, sulphur dioxide, hydrogen chloride, dioxins and a number of other pollutants. All environmental permits for existing waste incinerators were reviewed and updated by the compliance deadline of 3rd December 2023 to reflect these new standards.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to work with health professionals to address the disproportionate impact of air pollution on Black and racialised communities.
Answered by Lord Markham
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has published guidance on air pollution which includes recommendations on advice health professionals can provide to people who may be affected by poor air quality. A copy of the guidance is attached.
NHS England focuses on reducing healthcare inequalities at both national and system level in the most deprived and underserved communities, through its Core20PLUS5 programme. This programme sets out a target population comprising of the poorest 20 percent of the population, along with ethnic minorities and inclusion health groups.
Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department has taken recent steps with (a) Health Education England and (b) Royal Colleges to provide information to health professionals on treating people who are vulnerable to the health effects of air pollution.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
Guidance issued by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence includes recommendations on advice health professionals can give to people who may be particularly affected by poor outdoor and indoor air quality. The guidance is available at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng70
Standards for education and training of healthcare professionals are the responsibility of the independent statutory regulatory bodies. The Department engages regularly with health professional bodies, but it would not be appropriate for the Government to intervene in the design of standards of proficiency or the design of curricula. This is to respect the independence and expertise of regulators and universities in designing standards and curricula that ensure public safety.
The Chief Medical Officer’s annual report 2022 focused on air pollution and includes an assessment of the evidence on health risks associated with poor air quality. The report is available at the following link:
www.gov.uk/government/publications/chief-medical-officers-annual-report-2022-air-pollution
Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help ensure that children in school are not exposed to high levels of air pollution.
Answered by Damian Hinds
The department has published the Building Bulletin 101, which provides non-statutory guidance on ventilation, thermal comfort and indoor air quality in schools. This is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/building-bulletin-101-ventilation-for-school-buildings.
Local outdoor air quality is the responsibility of local authorities who should prepare air quality action plans to ensure the level of pollutants is reduced. In January 2019, the government published the Clean Air Strategy setting out plans to deal with all sources of pollution. This is accessible at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/clean-air-strategy-2019.
Guidance on good estate management for ventilation in schools is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/good-estate-management-for-schools/health-and-safety.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with civil society groups about the disproportionate impact of air pollution on (1) people living in poverty, and (2) ethnic minority communities.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller
The Government recognises there is more to do to protect all people in our society and the environment from the effects of air pollution. This is why we are taking the significant and wide-ranging action to drive improvements to air quality as set out in our Environmental Improvement Plan 2023.
As part of the Air Quality Information System (AQIS) review, officials engaged in a series of semi-structured interviews with civil society groups with the aim of learning directly from groups who either: (1) have first-hand experience communicating messages about air quality directly to communities; or (2) represent communities that may be disproportionately impacted by air pollution. The insights from these interviews will be incorporated into the AQIS recommendations which will be published in summer 2024.
Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
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.
Answered by Robbie Moore
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 (PM2.5) 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.