Air Pollution

(asked on 8th March 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Vere of Norbiton on 20 November 2020 (HL10411), whether they will now answer the question put, namely what steps citizens can take to ensure that local authorities are reviewing air quality.


Answered by
Baroness Vere of Norbiton Portrait
Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
This question was answered on 16th March 2021

Local authorities have a statutory duty to review and assess air quality in their areas. Local authorities will determine what monitoring is necessary and decide where monitoring takes place with regard to statutory Local Air Quality Management guidance. Under the Local Air Quality Management Framework local authorities are expected to produce and publish annual air quality status reports which are to be submitted annually to Defra. Defra assesses these annual status reports and expects local authorities to take any comments or requirements made by Defra into account.

Local authorities are primarily responsible to their local electorates and will have their own complaints processes. Citizens with concerns or complaints about the way in which a local authority undertakes local air quality statutory duties are therefore advised to raise the issue with the local authority. Ultimately a local authority failing to fulfil statutory duties could be taken to court by interested parties. If a local authority fails to discharge its statutory air quality duties set out in the Environment Act 1995 the Secretary of State of the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has the power to direct a local authority to take such steps as may be specified in the directions.

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