Source · Select Committees · Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee
Fifth report - Air Quality and coronavirus: a glimpse of a different future or business as usual
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee
HC 468
Published 11 February 2021
Government response
Seventh Special Report - Air Quality and Coronavirus: A Glimpse of a Different Future or Business as Usual: Government Response to the Committee’s Fifth Report · published 24 Apr 2021
Recommendations & Conclusions
1
Conclusion
Acknowledged
Para 18
Before the pandemic, the UK had made limited progress in improving air quality, with less...
Conclusion
Before the pandemic, the UK had made limited progress in improving air quality, with less than a quarter of air quality assessment areas meeting the annual mean limit for nitrogen dioxide (NO2). Lockdown restrictions from March 2020 led to less …
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Government Response Summary
The government reiterates its commitment to improving air quality through existing legally binding limits and new targets under the Environment Bill, which will be enforceable by the Office for Environmental Protection against all public bodies.
Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs
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8
Recommendation
Acknowledged
As part of the Clean Air Strategy the Government should include a timeline on when...
Recommendation
As part of the Clean Air Strategy the Government should include a timeline on when the reduction in limits of other pollutants is to be delivered. (Paragraph 58) National and local action
Government Response Summary
The government stated that legally binding targets exist for reducing emissions of five key pollutants by 2020 and 2030, but acknowledged that 2020 targets for ammonia and PM2.5 are unlikely to be met. They committed to revising the National Air Pollution Control Programme to set out additional measures to get back on track.
Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs
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13
Recommendation
Acknowledged
We recognise that CAZs do not address the root causes of air pollution, nor the...
Recommendation
We recognise that CAZs do not address the root causes of air pollution, nor the wider issues beyond their boundaries, and that local leaders sometimes have to strike a difficult balance so as to not “lose the dressing room”. However, …
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Government Response Summary
The government stated it is conducting a major review of the Local Air Quality Management Framework, promising to work closely with local authorities to understand pandemic impacts and develop a stronger support framework. This is a broader review, rather than a specific commitment for JAQU to review its evaluation programme's scope and accessibility as requested.
Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs
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