Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Enfield, Southgate)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of the public health budget has been allocated to support measures that seek to protect the public from air pollution in each year for which information is available.
Answered by Steve Brine
The information is not held in the format requested.
Asked by: Rushanara Ali (Labour - Bethnal Green and Bow)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of air quality in London on children’s health.
Answered by Steve Brine
The Exploration of Health and Lungs in the Environment (EXHALE) programme is a London focussed study that identifies links between pollution and children’s lung health. The Department has commissioned a review on adverse birth outcomes and early life effects associated with exposure to air pollution.
The Public Health Outcomes Framework 3.01 indicator, updated every year, provides the fraction of mortality attributable to long-term exposure to human-made particulate air pollution at local authority level which is 6.4% for the London region.
Asked by: David Drew (Labour (Co-op) - Stroud)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his Department's policy is on the safe limit for public health of inhalation of (a) PM 0.1, (b) PM1 and (c) PM2.5.
Answered by Steve Brine
The Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants (COMEAP) has assessed the effects of particulate air pollution on mortality in the United Kingdom. The latest reports are available to be viewed at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/comeap-reports
Public Health England (PHE) estimated the mortality burden in 2010 associated with long-term exposure to human-made particulate air pollution at local authority level. The report is available at the following link:
COMEAP assessed the evidence on long-term exposure to ambient air pollutants (mainly particulate air pollution) and chronic bronchitis and respiratory symptoms. Although no separate assessments of the impact of the PM1 and PM0.1 fractions of particulate air pollution have been produced, PM1 and PM0.1 are included within the PM10 and PM2.5 fractions, on which assessments are usually based.
COMEAP is currently assessing the effects of air pollutants on dementia and cognitive decline. Research projects into the health effects of air pollution in two Health Protection Research Units, in which PHE is a partner, focus on various areas including health impact assessments of nanoparticles. There is also a COMEAP report on the mechanisms by which air pollutants affect cardiovascular health due to be published later this year.
PHE’s position is that well run and regulated modern Municipal Waste Incinerators (MWIs) are not a significant risk to public health. This view is based on detailed assessments of the effects of air pollutants on health and on the fact that modern MWIs make a small contribution to local concentrations of air pollutants.
When consulted, PHE provides an expert and independent opinion to the regulator (Environment Agency) on the potential impacts on human health of emissions arising from existing or proposed regulated facilities, such as MWIs. PHE will comment on the applicants’ risk assessments and how they demonstrate the installation’s impacts on human health, and when requested, any additional modelling and assessments conducted by the Environment Agency for chemicals and radiation including particulate matter and dioxins, providing health advice that is clear, concise and based on best available evidence and expert judgement. This assists the regulator in making decisions on whether or not to grant permits to regulated facilities. Guidance on PHE’s role in environmental permitting is available at the following link:
PHE has reviewed the evidence on the effects of waste incinerators on human health including the effects of dioxin. Further information is available at the following link:
Available studies have not identified a threshold concentration below which there is no association between exposure to particulate air pollution and adverse health effects. The European Union Limit Value for PM2.5 (annual mean of 25 µg/m3) that the UK must comply with is included as an air quality objective in the national Air Quality Strategy available at the following link:
Asked by: David Drew (Labour (Co-op) - Stroud)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent research he has consulted to formulate policy related to the effects on health of PM (a) 2.5 (b) 1 and (c) 0.1.
Answered by Steve Brine
The Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants (COMEAP) has assessed the effects of particulate air pollution on mortality in the United Kingdom. The latest reports are available to be viewed at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/comeap-reports
Public Health England (PHE) estimated the mortality burden in 2010 associated with long-term exposure to human-made particulate air pollution at local authority level. The report is available at the following link:
COMEAP assessed the evidence on long-term exposure to ambient air pollutants (mainly particulate air pollution) and chronic bronchitis and respiratory symptoms. Although no separate assessments of the impact of the PM1 and PM0.1 fractions of particulate air pollution have been produced, PM1 and PM0.1 are included within the PM10 and PM2.5 fractions, on which assessments are usually based.
COMEAP is currently assessing the effects of air pollutants on dementia and cognitive decline. Research projects into the health effects of air pollution in two Health Protection Research Units, in which PHE is a partner, focus on various areas including health impact assessments of nanoparticles. There is also a COMEAP report on the mechanisms by which air pollutants affect cardiovascular health due to be published later this year.
PHE’s position is that well run and regulated modern Municipal Waste Incinerators (MWIs) are not a significant risk to public health. This view is based on detailed assessments of the effects of air pollutants on health and on the fact that modern MWIs make a small contribution to local concentrations of air pollutants.
When consulted, PHE provides an expert and independent opinion to the regulator (Environment Agency) on the potential impacts on human health of emissions arising from existing or proposed regulated facilities, such as MWIs. PHE will comment on the applicants’ risk assessments and how they demonstrate the installation’s impacts on human health, and when requested, any additional modelling and assessments conducted by the Environment Agency for chemicals and radiation including particulate matter and dioxins, providing health advice that is clear, concise and based on best available evidence and expert judgement. This assists the regulator in making decisions on whether or not to grant permits to regulated facilities. Guidance on PHE’s role in environmental permitting is available at the following link:
PHE has reviewed the evidence on the effects of waste incinerators on human health including the effects of dioxin. Further information is available at the following link:
Available studies have not identified a threshold concentration below which there is no association between exposure to particulate air pollution and adverse health effects. The European Union Limit Value for PM2.5 (annual mean of 25 µg/m3) that the UK must comply with is included as an air quality objective in the national Air Quality Strategy available at the following link:
Asked by: David Drew (Labour (Co-op) - Stroud)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what research his Department has (a) commissioned and (b) conducted on the health effects of PM (i) 2.5; (ii) 1 and (iii) 0.1.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The Department funds research mainly through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and this includes research on the impact of air pollution. Research commissioned and their findings are published by the NIHR at the following link:
https://www.journalslibrary.nihr.ac.uk/programmes/
The Department also commissions Public Health England (PHE) and its expert Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollution (COMEAP) to review and conduct research on air pollution. Research findings can be found at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/comeap-reports
Most recently COMEAP conducted research and analysis to quantify the mortality associated with long-term average concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in the United Kingdom. A statement updating earlier advice on was issued on 22 August 2018 at the following link:
Since 2014, the Department has funded at a cost of £4.4 million, the NIHR Health Protection Research Unit (HPRU) on Health Impact of Environmental Hazards, a partnership between PHE and King’s College to conduct a large programme of research on the health impact of various pollutants including PM2.5. A list of research can be found at the following link:
Key ongoing research projects are: a study to optimize the assessment of health impacts of air pollutants including PM2.5; research on the neurocognitive and behavioral impacts of traffic derived pollutants including PM2.5 in children as part of a larger study looking at cognition, adolescence and mobile phones and research on the health impacts of nanoparticles.
The Department also funds at a cost £4.2 million, the NIHR HPRU in Environmental Change and Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, to conduct research on air pollution and health in relation to climate change. Further details can be found at the following link:
http://www.hpru-ech.nihr.ac.uk/
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential causal link between respiratory diseases and deprivation and its effect on levels of (a) chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, (b) cancer, (c) tuberculosis, (d) pneumonia, (e) pulmonary fibrosis and (f) asthma; and what steps he is taking to reduce any such inequalities relating to respiratory diseases.
Answered by Steve Brine
NHS England is committed to reducing health inequalities, and respiratory disease will be a clinical priority in the National Health Service long-term plan.
Evidence shows that disadvantaged groups and areas of deprivation experience higher incidence rates of respiratory disease (such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma). This is in part due to higher levels of smoking, exposure to higher levels of air pollution, poor housing conditions, early life experiences and exposure to occupational hazards.
National programmes such as the Elective Care Programme, NHS RightCare and Getting It Right First Time are focussing on respiratory disease management and have outlined the benefits that improvements in this area can bring to patients.
Cancer of the larynx and lung are more common in the 20% most deprived patients relative to the 20% more well off patients. Smoking and increased alcohol consumption, both risk factors for these cancers, are also more common amongst more deprived populations.
NHS England is to pilot low dose CT scanning for lung cancer, focussing on those clinical commissioning groups with the highest lung cancer mortality and incidence. These pilots, together with the implementation of rapid diagnosis pathways for lung cancer will help to close the gap in inequalities.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to page 13 of his Department's Clean Air Strategy 2018, whether his Department has identified the reason for increased agricultural fertiliser use since 2015; and what steps his Department is taking to reverse the associated 3.2% rise in ammonia emissions.
Answered by George Eustice
The Government launched a consultation on the Clean Air Strategy on 22 May. This ambitious Strategy aims to cut air pollution and save lives by achieving substantial reductions in emissions of five pollutants, including ammonia, which are harmful to human health and the environment.
The National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory report published in 2018 provides estimates of ammonia emissions from agriculture in the year 2016. The report attributes the 3.2% rise in ammonia emissions between 2015 and 2016 to a slight increase in numbers of dairy cattle and an increase in the use of urea-based fertilisers. The report indicates that the increased use of fertilisers is likely to be due to price variation between different fertiliser types.
Farming accounts for 88% of ammonia emissions in the UK. The Clean Air Strategy proposes concerted action to tackle these emissions by requiring and supporting farmers to invest in the equipment that will reduce emissions. It includes proposals to regulate to reduce ammonia emissions from farming and consults on three approaches. Proposals include regulations to reduce emissions from storage and spreading of slurry and manure and from use of urea-based fertilisers.
The Strategy sets out the support that has been provided to farmers through the Farm Ammonia Reduction Grant which offered grants for covering slurry stores and provided on-farm advice. It also highlights the grants now available through the Countryside Productivity Scheme to help farmers purchase manure management equipment including low-emission spreaders and through the Countryside Stewardship Scheme for slurry tank and lagoon covers for farmers in priority water catchments.
Defra has worked with farming industry organisations to develop a Code of good agricultural practice which will be published later this year.
As set out in the Clean Air Strategy a group of independent specialists will be recruited to make recommendations on the maximum limits that should be applied for fertiliser application. Details of the members of this group will be available in due course.
The Agriculture Bill will set the foundations for a future domestic agricultural policy as the UK leaves the EU and the Common Agricultural Policy. As set out in the Health and Harmony consultation, future financial support for farming should see public money paying for public goods. The new environmental land management scheme, underpinned by natural capital principles, will contribute to delivering against many of the key outcomes set out in the 25 Year Environment Plan and the Clean Growth Strategy. These include clean air; clean and plentiful water; thriving plants and wildlife, which habitat protection would contribute to; reduced risk of harm from environmental hazards such as flooding and drought; using resources from nature more sustainably and efficiently; enhanced beauty, heritage and engagement for the natural environment and mitigating and adapting to climate change.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to page 64 of the Clean Air Strategy, when he plans to publish the national code of good agricultural practice.
Answered by George Eustice
The Government launched a consultation on the Clean Air Strategy on 22 May. This ambitious Strategy aims to cut air pollution and save lives by achieving substantial reductions in emissions of five pollutants, including ammonia, which are harmful to human health and the environment.
The National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory report published in 2018 provides estimates of ammonia emissions from agriculture in the year 2016. The report attributes the 3.2% rise in ammonia emissions between 2015 and 2016 to a slight increase in numbers of dairy cattle and an increase in the use of urea-based fertilisers. The report indicates that the increased use of fertilisers is likely to be due to price variation between different fertiliser types.
Farming accounts for 88% of ammonia emissions in the UK. The Clean Air Strategy proposes concerted action to tackle these emissions by requiring and supporting farmers to invest in the equipment that will reduce emissions. It includes proposals to regulate to reduce ammonia emissions from farming and consults on three approaches. Proposals include regulations to reduce emissions from storage and spreading of slurry and manure and from use of urea-based fertilisers.
The Strategy sets out the support that has been provided to farmers through the Farm Ammonia Reduction Grant which offered grants for covering slurry stores and provided on-farm advice. It also highlights the grants now available through the Countryside Productivity Scheme to help farmers purchase manure management equipment including low-emission spreaders and through the Countryside Stewardship Scheme for slurry tank and lagoon covers for farmers in priority water catchments.
Defra has worked with farming industry organisations to develop a Code of good agricultural practice which will be published later this year.
As set out in the Clean Air Strategy a group of independent specialists will be recruited to make recommendations on the maximum limits that should be applied for fertiliser application. Details of the members of this group will be available in due course.
The Agriculture Bill will set the foundations for a future domestic agricultural policy as the UK leaves the EU and the Common Agricultural Policy. As set out in the Health and Harmony consultation, future financial support for farming should see public money paying for public goods. The new environmental land management scheme, underpinned by natural capital principles, will contribute to delivering against many of the key outcomes set out in the 25 Year Environment Plan and the Clean Growth Strategy. These include clean air; clean and plentiful water; thriving plants and wildlife, which habitat protection would contribute to; reduced risk of harm from environmental hazards such as flooding and drought; using resources from nature more sustainably and efficiently; enhanced beauty, heritage and engagement for the natural environment and mitigating and adapting to climate change.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to page 64 of the Clean Air Strategy, what steps his Department plans to take to support farmers to make investments in farm infrastructure and equipment that will reduce emissions; and what the timeframe is for the introduction of that support.
Answered by George Eustice
The Government launched a consultation on the Clean Air Strategy on 22 May. This ambitious Strategy aims to cut air pollution and save lives by achieving substantial reductions in emissions of five pollutants, including ammonia, which are harmful to human health and the environment.
The National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory report published in 2018 provides estimates of ammonia emissions from agriculture in the year 2016. The report attributes the 3.2% rise in ammonia emissions between 2015 and 2016 to a slight increase in numbers of dairy cattle and an increase in the use of urea-based fertilisers. The report indicates that the increased use of fertilisers is likely to be due to price variation between different fertiliser types.
Farming accounts for 88% of ammonia emissions in the UK. The Clean Air Strategy proposes concerted action to tackle these emissions by requiring and supporting farmers to invest in the equipment that will reduce emissions. It includes proposals to regulate to reduce ammonia emissions from farming and consults on three approaches. Proposals include regulations to reduce emissions from storage and spreading of slurry and manure and from use of urea-based fertilisers.
The Strategy sets out the support that has been provided to farmers through the Farm Ammonia Reduction Grant which offered grants for covering slurry stores and provided on-farm advice. It also highlights the grants now available through the Countryside Productivity Scheme to help farmers purchase manure management equipment including low-emission spreaders and through the Countryside Stewardship Scheme for slurry tank and lagoon covers for farmers in priority water catchments.
Defra has worked with farming industry organisations to develop a Code of good agricultural practice which will be published later this year.
As set out in the Clean Air Strategy a group of independent specialists will be recruited to make recommendations on the maximum limits that should be applied for fertiliser application. Details of the members of this group will be available in due course.
The Agriculture Bill will set the foundations for a future domestic agricultural policy as the UK leaves the EU and the Common Agricultural Policy. As set out in the Health and Harmony consultation, future financial support for farming should see public money paying for public goods. The new environmental land management scheme, underpinned by natural capital principles, will contribute to delivering against many of the key outcomes set out in the 25 Year Environment Plan and the Clean Growth Strategy. These include clean air; clean and plentiful water; thriving plants and wildlife, which habitat protection would contribute to; reduced risk of harm from environmental hazards such as flooding and drought; using resources from nature more sustainably and efficiently; enhanced beauty, heritage and engagement for the natural environment and mitigating and adapting to climate change.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to page 64 of his Clean Air Strategy 2018, whether he plans to include in his forthcoming agriculture Bill funding for targeted action to protect habitats affected by ammonia; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by George Eustice
The Government launched a consultation on the Clean Air Strategy on 22 May. This ambitious Strategy aims to cut air pollution and save lives by achieving substantial reductions in emissions of five pollutants, including ammonia, which are harmful to human health and the environment.
The National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory report published in 2018 provides estimates of ammonia emissions from agriculture in the year 2016. The report attributes the 3.2% rise in ammonia emissions between 2015 and 2016 to a slight increase in numbers of dairy cattle and an increase in the use of urea-based fertilisers. The report indicates that the increased use of fertilisers is likely to be due to price variation between different fertiliser types.
Farming accounts for 88% of ammonia emissions in the UK. The Clean Air Strategy proposes concerted action to tackle these emissions by requiring and supporting farmers to invest in the equipment that will reduce emissions. It includes proposals to regulate to reduce ammonia emissions from farming and consults on three approaches. Proposals include regulations to reduce emissions from storage and spreading of slurry and manure and from use of urea-based fertilisers.
The Strategy sets out the support that has been provided to farmers through the Farm Ammonia Reduction Grant which offered grants for covering slurry stores and provided on-farm advice. It also highlights the grants now available through the Countryside Productivity Scheme to help farmers purchase manure management equipment including low-emission spreaders and through the Countryside Stewardship Scheme for slurry tank and lagoon covers for farmers in priority water catchments.
Defra has worked with farming industry organisations to develop a Code of good agricultural practice which will be published later this year.
As set out in the Clean Air Strategy a group of independent specialists will be recruited to make recommendations on the maximum limits that should be applied for fertiliser application. Details of the members of this group will be available in due course.
The Agriculture Bill will set the foundations for a future domestic agricultural policy as the UK leaves the EU and the Common Agricultural Policy. As set out in the Health and Harmony consultation, future financial support for farming should see public money paying for public goods. The new environmental land management scheme, underpinned by natural capital principles, will contribute to delivering against many of the key outcomes set out in the 25 Year Environment Plan and the Clean Growth Strategy. These include clean air; clean and plentiful water; thriving plants and wildlife, which habitat protection would contribute to; reduced risk of harm from environmental hazards such as flooding and drought; using resources from nature more sustainably and efficiently; enhanced beauty, heritage and engagement for the natural environment and mitigating and adapting to climate change.