Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of (a) wood burning stoves and (b) bonfires on public health.

In the United Kingdom burning wood and coal in open fires and stoves accounts for 38% of fine particulate matter emissions. Exposure to particulate matter is associated with respiratory conditions, cardiovascular disease, and lung cancer. There is emerging evidence for associations with dementia, low birth weight and type 2 diabetes. Further information is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/health-matters-air-pollution/health-matters-air-pollution

Public Health England is reviewing the evidence on the association between indoor and outdoor exposure to solid fuel burning within the home and respiratory outcomes in adults. There is currently little evidence linking exposure to indoor or outdoor coal or wood burning with respiratory diseases in children. This does not mean there are not health effects, but that there is currently no strong scientific evidence showing this.