Recommendations & Conclusions
11 items
7
Conclusion
Twenty-Second Report - Tackling local a…
Acknowledged
On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, the Department for Transport, and National Highways on their work to tackle poor air quality in England.1 Our report covers both the Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) Programme …
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On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, the Department for Transport, and National Highways on their work to tackle poor air quality in England.1 Our report covers both the Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) Programme (the Programme) and work to address other air pollutants.
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Government response AI summary
Acknowledges the committee's report and provides background information on the government's approach to tackling air quality, including the NO2 programme, Clean Air Zones, and funding for local authorities and the Strategic Road Network.
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HM Treasury
8
Conclusion
Twenty-Second Report - Tackling local a…
Acknowledged
While emissions of most air pollutants have been falling in recent decades in the UK, poor air quality continues to cause damage to people’s health and the natural environment. The Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants estimated that human-made air pollution in the UK has an effect equivalent …
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While emissions of most air pollutants have been falling in recent decades in the UK, poor air quality continues to cause damage to people’s health and the natural environment. The Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants estimated that human-made air pollution in the UK has an effect equivalent to between 28,000 and 36,000 deaths each year. There are two types of air quality target in the UK—national emissions ceilings, which are breached if too much of one pollutant is emitted across the UK within a year, and local concentration limits, which are breached if the average level of a pollutant in a specific area is too high. Current targets cover pollution from ammonia, particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, non-methane volatile organic compounds, sulphur dioxide, and more.2
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Government response AI summary
The government acknowledges the impact of poor air quality and the legal limits in place, referencing the Joint Air Quality Unit (JAQU) and measures like bus retrofits and Clean Air Zones (CAZs).
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HM Treasury
9
Conclusion
Twenty-Second Report - Tackling local a…
Acknowledged
The UK complied with most of these legal limits between 2010 and 2019 with the exception of the local concentration limits for NO2, for which there have been longstanding breaches in some areas of the country. The country may also have missed the national limit for ammonia in 2020, and …
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The UK complied with most of these legal limits between 2010 and 2019 with the exception of the local concentration limits for NO2, for which there have been longstanding breaches in some areas of the country. The country may also have missed the national limit for ammonia in 2020, and existing policy measures will not be sufficient to achieve most of government’s 2030 emissions ceilings targets, which require lower levels of pollution than current targets. Government published a Clean Air Strategy in January 2019 outlining its approach to air quality more broadly. Government expects to publish an update of its National Air Pollution Control Programme in September 2022 to set out the measures that will be required for the UK to meet its 2030 national emissions limits.3
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Government response AI summary
The government acknowledges breaches of NO2 limits and the upcoming update to the National Air Pollution Control Programme.
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HM Treasury
10
Conclusion
Twenty-Second Report - Tackling local a…
Acknowledged
The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Department for Transport (DfT) established the Joint Air Quality Unit (JAQU) in 2016 to oversee delivery of government’s plans to achieve compliance with NO2 limits. The NO2 Programme is government’s largest dedicated air quality initiative and involves two main …
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The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Department for Transport (DfT) established the Joint Air Quality Unit (JAQU) in 2016 to oversee delivery of government’s plans to achieve compliance with NO2 limits. The NO2 Programme is government’s largest dedicated air quality initiative and involves two main elements: • Ministerial Directions to specified local authorities requiring them to assess potential breaches in their local area, and identify and implement measures to tackle the problem, with support and funding provided by JAQU; and • work by National Highways, a government-owned company, to assess and tackle breaches on England’s motorways and certain major A-roads known as the Strategic Road Network.4
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Government response AI summary
The government acknowledges the role of the Joint Air Quality Unit (JAQU) and the NO2 Programme in addressing air quality issues.
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HM Treasury
11
Conclusion
Twenty-Second Report - Tackling local a…
Acknowledged
Since 2017 Defra and DfT have jointly issued directions to 64 local authorities. It has also identified 31 sections of the Strategic Road Network that are above the limit value and therefore non-compliant. Measures to tackle NO2 pollution include bus retrofit and traffic management schemes, and in some areas, Clean …
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Since 2017 Defra and DfT have jointly issued directions to 64 local authorities. It has also identified 31 sections of the Strategic Road Network that are above the limit value and therefore non-compliant. Measures to tackle NO2 pollution include bus retrofit and traffic management schemes, and in some areas, Clean Air Zones where vehicle owners 1 C&AG’s Report, Tackling local breaches of air quality, Session 2022–23, HC 66, 17 June 2022 2 C&AG’s Report, paras 1.3 - 1.6 3 C&AG’s Report, paras 1 - 6, 10, 1.12 4 C&AG’s Report, para 3 Tackling local air quality breaches 9 are required to pay a charge if their vehicle does not meet a certain emissions standard.5
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Government response AI summary
The government has directed 64 local authorities to take action to improve air quality through its NO2 programme, and has commissioned National Highways to examine breaches on the Strategic Road Network in England, with £883 million committed to the Programme and £39 million spent to …
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HM Treasury
15
Conclusion
Twenty-Second Report - Tackling local a…
Acknowledged
Issues of poor air quality are often highly localised: the 31 non-compliant sections of the Strategic Road Network represent about 51 miles of road, out of the 4,500 managed by National Highways.13 National Highways estimates about 240 to 250 houses or properties are directly affected by these exceedances, as many …
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Issues of poor air quality are often highly localised: the 31 non-compliant sections of the Strategic Road Network represent about 51 miles of road, out of the 4,500 managed by National Highways.13 National Highways estimates about 240 to 250 houses or properties are directly affected by these exceedances, as many are not in urban areas, and levels of NO2 drop off quickly away from the road.14 Tackling these exceedances will require interventions that may be unpopular with local residents; National Highways told us that it is looking at developing two nine-metre-high barriers in the centre of Guildford, which is the location with the most severe air quality impact from the breaches identified on the strategic road network.15 These would require planning permission, which is unlikely to be 5 C&AG’s Report, paras 3–5 6 C&AG’s Report, Figure 7 7 Q 46 8 Qq 44 - 46 9 C&AG’s Report, para 17 10 Q 46 11 Q57 12 C&AG’s Report, paras 1.21, 1.22 13 Q 19 14 Q 43 15 Q 12 10 Tackling local air quality breaches straightforward if residents are not aware of the need to tackle air quality at the location.16 Other measures face similar barriers in public understanding; for example, speed limits are introduced for a variety of reasons, and in at least four locations are driven purely by air quality concerns, but this is not always clearly communicated.17
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Government response AI summary
The government states National Highways has engaged with local authorities and MPs, and the Joint Air Quality Unit is considering how best to make information available via public engagement channels to address awareness issues.
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HM Treasury
18
Conclusion
Twenty-Second Report - Tackling local a…
Acknowledged
DfT explained to us that the national model ‘fills in the gaps’ in data collected by its monitoring stations to create a kilometre by a kilometre map of air quality across the country, and forecasts to 2030.23 DfT also told us that the results of the national model are updated …
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DfT explained to us that the national model ‘fills in the gaps’ in data collected by its monitoring stations to create a kilometre by a kilometre map of air quality across the country, and forecasts to 2030.23 DfT also told us that the results of the national model are updated to account for local experience; for example, in Southampton the local authority found that the national model underestimated NO2 compared to the results of local monitoring, due to a different fleet mix than predicted, so the model was updated.24
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees that the best available evidence is used to identify areas in exceedance and bring them into the programme, and that they continue to work with experts to improve the model and have set up a new monitoring network, and where monitoring identifies …
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HM Treasury
20
Conclusion
Twenty-Second Report - Tackling local a…
Acknowledged
Defra and DfT also wrote to us to explain that local monitoring is not directly fed into Defra’s national model in real time, particularly as many local measurements do not meet the data requirements for inclusion in the national NO2 compliance assessment. Instead, they review the model results against local …
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Defra and DfT also wrote to us to explain that local monitoring is not directly fed into Defra’s national model in real time, particularly as many local measurements do not meet the data requirements for inclusion in the national NO2 compliance assessment. Instead, they review the model results against local NO2 assessments and use any discrepancies to prioritise improvements to the national NO2 compliance assessment. They also told us that an uncertainty of around +/-30% is not unusual for a model of this scale and complexity, and that their model meets the uncertainty requirements for assessing compliance with the annual mean NO2 limit value under the Air Quality Standards Regulations.27 However, the NAO highlighted that this is the limit of what is permitted.28 Working with local government
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Government response AI summary
The government acknowledges the uncertainty in the national model but states it meets requirements for assessing compliance and that they continue to work with experts to improve it and have set up a new monitoring network that has greatly increased locations where compliance is assessed …
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HM Treasury
24
Conclusion
Twenty-Second Report - Tackling local a…
Acknowledged
As at May 2022, a lifetime budget of £883 million has been committed to the NO2 Programme to support local authorities. Separately government has spent £39 million to improve air quality on the Strategic Road Network from 2015–16 to 2019–20. Further funding is available to 2024–25.37 Although the NO2 programme …
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As at May 2022, a lifetime budget of £883 million has been committed to the NO2 Programme to support local authorities. Separately government has spent £39 million to improve air quality on the Strategic Road Network from 2015–16 to 2019–20. Further funding is available to 2024–25.37 Although the NO2 programme is the largest dedicated air quality initiative, other work across government is expected to contribute to improving air quality, such as support to ultra-low emission vehicles and the Transforming Cities Fund, which improves public and sustainable transport. Government could not provide the National Audit Office with a breakdown of committed and actual spend across its portfolio of air quality initiatives.38 DfT told us that it has carried out deep dives in specific areas, such as on air quality benefits from meeting Net Zero commitments over the period from 2020 to 2050, but that carrying out similar work across the full span of Government programmes on an annual basis would be technically difficult.39
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Government response AI summary
The government provides figures on spending on NO2 pollution and improving air quality on the Strategic Road Network.
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HM Treasury
27
Conclusion
Twenty-Second Report - Tackling local a…
Acknowledged
National Highways retains responsibility for addressing air quality issues on the parts of the Strategic Road Network that pass through urban areas. It told us that, in setting its measures, it needs to ensure it does not do anything that displaces traffic onto other roads, which would shift where exceedances …
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National Highways retains responsibility for addressing air quality issues on the parts of the Strategic Road Network that pass through urban areas. It told us that, in setting its measures, it needs to ensure it does not do anything that displaces traffic onto other roads, which would shift where exceedances occur and risk displacing heavy traffic onto roads managed by local authorities.44 It told us that it manages these risks both at the national level, through working with the seven sub-national transport bodies, and at a local level, through considering signage options and working with local authorities where sections of the strategic road network are in a clean air zone.45 However, UK100, a network of local government leaders, told us that many of their members have found that “effective engagement with National Highways is difficult, and they struggle to find out information from them or gain tangible support from National Highways for air quality action.”46 The potential impact on local roads is considered as part of the assessment of the viability of air quality measures on the strategic road network, but as National Highways does not currently publish the criteria by which it judges viability, it is not possible to confirm the extent to which these considerations have affected decision making.47
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Government response AI summary
The government states National Highways has engaged with local authorities and MPs, and the Joint Air Quality Unit is working to consider how to make information available via established public engagement channels.
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HM Treasury
32
Conclusion
Twenty-Second Report - Tackling local a…
Acknowledged
Existing policy measures will not be sufficient to achieve most of the 2030 emissions ceilings (Figure 1). Defra told us that Government will soon publish a draft national air pollution control plan to set out policies and measures designed to bring the UK into compliance for 2030. It told us …
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Existing policy measures will not be sufficient to achieve most of the 2030 emissions ceilings (Figure 1). Defra told us that Government will soon publish a draft national air pollution control plan to set out policies and measures designed to bring the UK into compliance for 2030. It told us that these plans will build on existing programmes of continuous improvement, such as environmental permitting and work with industry around industrial emissions. Defra told us that building on these existing bodies of work gives some assurance over the feasibility of its proposed measures, but that it also intends to use a consultation period to further test the plans ahead of publication in September.58 53 Q 32 54 LAQ0003 55 LAQ0004 56 Q 40 57 Qq 55, 60 58 Q 2 Tackling local breaches of air quality Part One 23 1.13 Existing policy measures will not be sufficient to achieve most of the 2030 emissions ceilings and government is developing plans for the new policies needed (Figure 4). Projections submitted to the EU in 2019 indicated that targets would be missed, but did not include (as required by the EU) a full modelled scenario showing how compliance with all of the emission reduction commitments could be achieved. Government plans to publish an update to the UK’s National Air Pollution Control Programme in September 2022, in which it expects to outline in detail the measures required to achieve its emissions ceilings. Defra told u sT tahactk tlhienreg alroe cteaclh aniicra ql aunad lity breaches 15 behavioural challenges to reducing emissions of particulate matter, including because of the potential impact of increased energy prices on domestic wood-burning. Figure 4 Figure 1: UK UpKr porjoejecctteedd e memissiiosnssi oconms pcaoremd tpo aermeisdsi otnos ceemilinigsss iino 2n0s3 0ceilings in 2030 The latest government projections show that existing policy measures are insufficient for the UK to achieve most of its 2030 emissions ceilings Emissions (kt) 700 600 500 400 300 20
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Government response AI summary
The government acknowledges that existing policy measures are insufficient to achieve most of the 2030 emissions ceilings and that they consulted on a revised National Air Pollution Control Programme (NAPCP) which includes robust actionable measures for further consideration to deliver compliance with the 2030 targets …
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HM Treasury