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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Air Quality Grant scheme.

Defra's annual Air Quality Grant scheme provides funding to local authorities to carry out projects in local communities to tackle air pollution and reduce emissions affecting schools, businesses and residents. It has awarded nearly £70 million in funding to a variety of projects since it started in 1997, which has helped local authorities make air quality improvements. This year additional funding of £9 million has been allocated for the grant scheme.

Air pollution has reduced significantly since 2010 – emissions of nitrogen oxides have fallen by 32% and are at their lowest level since records began, and we know we must do more to continue this trend. Local authorities have a key role to play delivering targeted pollution reduction measures at a local level. They are best placed to understand the diverse needs of their local area so the grant is designed to enable flexibility. Applicants are required to demonstrate deliverability, policy alignment, value for money and have in place plans to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of their interventions; these elements are evaluated as part of the competitive award process.

The objectives of the grant are reviewed annually to encourage applications for measures that will be most effective in delivering air quality improvements or positive behaviour change. This autumn, applications will be encouraged for measures that deliver air quality improvements, measures that deal with particulate matter; the pollutant most harmful to human health, and measures that improve air quality information and public awareness and accessibility to sources of information.