Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of a public awareness campaign on the health impacts and causes of air pollution.
Defra is currently conducting a holistic review of the way we communicate air quality information to the public. This will ensure the public is provided with timely and relevant information about air pollution, the actions people can take to limit their personal exposure, the impacts of air pollution on their health, and their own influence on air quality. The findings of the review will support the development of future public facing air quality information.
We ran a dedicated communications campaign, targeted at domestic burners, to improve awareness of the new regulations and to educate the public on the environmental and public health impacts of burning in their home to help reduce exposure to pollution. The Burn Better campaign focused on what the public can do to improve the way they burn, including switching to cleaner fuels, using approved appliances and maintaining their open fire or stove which includes advice on getting their chimney swept. Further information can be found here: Burn better: Making changes for cleaner air - Defra, UK