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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will (a) publish a media release to warn the public of high and very high air pollution forecast for the UK this week and (b) actively circulate that release to the main media outlets.

Information on both the current and forecast air pollution levels is disseminated to the public in near real-time (https://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/). This includes summary forecasts, measurements and health advice. When the forecast shows high air pollution, information is actively shared via social media and cascaded through a network of stakeholders including the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and health charities. Defra’s communications and media teams routinely engage with national and local media outlets to convey information on air pollution episodes and actions the public may take.

Defra, UKHSA and the Department of Health and Social Care have launched a comprehensive review into the way that we communicate air quality information.