Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has had recent discussions with Cabinet colleagues on introducing a Clean Air Act to enshrine the World Health Organisation's 2021 Air Quality Guidelines into law.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government is committed to cleaning up our air and protecting the public from the harm of pollution. The World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Air Quality Guidelines inform our approach to improving public health. However, as the Guidelines do not take into account national circumstances or achievability, they cannot be readily adopted everywhere. We remain committed to continuous improvement and the WHO Guidelines will continue to inform our evidence when considering next steps.

Air pollution comes from many different sources and has wide-ranging impacts. Issues such as air quality, climate action, public health and nature recovery are closely linked, creating opportunities for policies that deliver benefits across all these areas. Because of this, every part of government has a role in shaping policies that help reduce air pollution and its effects. I will continue to work collaboratively with colleagues across government to tackle key sources of air pollution, such as through transport, health and energy policy.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what consideration she has given to (a) revising Daily Air Quality Index thresholds to align with health evidence and (b) expanding the air pollution alert system to include fine particulate matter 2.5.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government is taking forward work to improve how air quality information is communicated to the public. Health advice accompanying the Daily Air Quality Index was updated in 2025, ensuring the advice is clinically accurate and aligns with the latest health evidence. Alongside the updated health advice, the Government is considering how the Daily Air Quality Index can be updated and is continuing work to improve digital systems and air quality alerts to ensure that information is timely, accessible, and presented in a clear and user‑friendly way. An expanded alerts service will be incrementally released over the course of the next 5 months which will incorporate all DAQI pollutants, including PM2.5.

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Cat Smith (Chair); James Asser; Bambos Charalambous; Mr Lee Dillon