Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has made an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the potential impact of air pollution on the (a) lung, (b) liver and (c) brain health of unborn babies in England.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) works with the Office of Health Improvment and Disparities and the Department on a national programme of work which aims to reduce people’s exposure to air pollution and achieve better outcomes for all – particularly for the most vulnerable groups, including pregnant women and children. This can be found at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ukhsa-priorities-in-2022-to-2023

Whilst the UKHSA is not currently undertaking a quantitative estimate of the impact of air pollution on the health of unborn babies, there is evidence that air pollution exposure is associated with potential effects on foetal growth. This is noted in a report that Public Health England, the predecessor organisation of the UKHSA, contributed to.

A Royal College of Physicians’ and Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health report examined the impact of exposure to air pollution across the course of a lifetime. It states that from the earliest stages of development DNA is susceptible to changes arising from exposure to air pollution. During critical periods of development, any interference can harm organs and tissues or change their developmental trajectory so that their function is impaired. The susceptibility of the development of lungs and the brain to air pollution are highlighted in the report.