Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Twenty-Second Report - Tackling local air quality breaches
Public Accounts Committee
HC 37
Published 26 October 2022
Recommendations
4
Rejected
Although calculating an exact figure may be difficult, with Departments claiming it would be a...
Recommendation
Although calculating an exact figure may be difficult, with Departments claiming it would be a great deal of effort to produce something not necessarily precise, Government could do more to improve the transparency of cross-government public spending that has an …
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Government Response Summary
The government disagrees with the recommendation, stating that the resource required to disaggregate spend driving air quality benefits across the variety of complex policies would be disproportionate, estimates produced would be misleading, and would not support accountability/transparency.
HM Treasury
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Conclusions (4)
21
Conclusion
Rejected
Government sees the relationship with local authorities as a partnership, and told us that it believes the programme will fail if it is seen to be a top-down programme done by national Government.29 However, local authorities are expected to follow a fairly centralised, prescriptive approach to achieving compliance with air …
Government Response Summary
The government disagrees with the need for a national communication campaign on Clean Air Zones, stating that local authorities are best placed to tailor communications to their communities, and that it has already provided significant support for local campaigns.
23
Conclusion
Rejected
On the other hand, government has not taken the responsibility it should for national messaging on the need for air quality measures. We asked Defra and DfT why Government had decided against a national communication campaign about the new charging Clean Air Zones (CAZs) that are coming into effect through …
Government Response Summary
The government disagrees with the need for a national communication campaign on Clean Air Zones, stating that local authorities are best placed to tailor communications to their communities, and that it has already provided significant support for local campaigns.
25
Conclusion
Rejected
The NAO reports that, by not tracking spend across its work on air quality, government risks being unable to evaluate the relative cost-effectiveness of its spending on the issue. The NAO highlighted the example of government’s preparations for EU Exit, where it found that a lack of spending information at …
Government Response Summary
The government disagrees with the recommendation to improve transparency of cross-government air quality spending, citing the disproportionate level of resources required and the uncertainties in the resulting estimates.
26
Conclusion
Rejected
Defra and DfT wrote to us to provide a breakdown of funding through the Joint Air Quality Unit and the Air Quality & Industrial Emissions programme. They also provided a summary of cross-government initiatives that affect air quality; these include work by Defra and DfT, as well as the Department …
Government Response Summary
The government disagrees with the recommendation to improve transparency of cross-government air quality spending, citing the disproportionate level of resources required and the uncertainties in the resulting estimates.