Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Twenty-Second Report - Tackling local air quality breaches
Public Accounts Committee
HC 37
Published 26 October 2022
Conclusions (9)
7
Conclusion
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 …
Government Response 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.
8
Conclusion
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 …
Government Response 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).
9
Conclusion
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 …
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges breaches of NO2 limits and the upcoming update to the National Air Pollution Control Programme.
10
Conclusion
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 …
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the role of the Joint Air Quality Unit (JAQU) and the NO2 Programme in addressing air quality issues.
11
Conclusion
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 …
Government Response 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 improve air quality on the Strategic Road Network.
18
Conclusion
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 …
Government Response 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 a potential breach, local authorities can share the information with the Joint Air Quality Unit.
20
Conclusion
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 …
Government Response 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 and has reduced uncertainty.
24
Conclusion
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 …
Government Response Summary
The government provides figures on spending on NO2 pollution and improving air quality on the Strategic Road Network.
32
Conclusion
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 …
Government Response 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 for all air pollutants.