Asked by: Laurence Turner (Labour - Birmingham Northfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress her Department has made on the guidance for schools on mitigating poor air quality.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The department regularly reviews its guidance to ensure that it aligns with best practice and industry standards, to deliver high-quality school environments.
Between January 2022 and April 2023, the department provided over 9,000 air cleaning units to over 1,300 settings that had been identified with poor ventilation. The department has published guidance on how to use CO2 monitors and air cleaning units, which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/using-co-monitors-and-air-cleaning-units-in-education-and-care-settings.
The department also publishes non-statutory guidance on indoor and outdoor air quality in ‘Building Bulletin 101: Guidelines on ventilation, thermal comfort and indoor air quality in schools’ (BB101), which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/building-bulletin-101-ventilation-for-school-buildings.
Asked by: Adrian Ramsay (Green Party - Waveney Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had discussions with public health stakeholders on ventilation in publicly provided spaces to assess (a) transmission of airborne diseases and (b) air quality; and if he will take steps to provide (i) funding and (ii) logistical support to ensure the safe ventilation of publicly provided spaces.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
The Chief Medical Officer’s 2022 annual report on air pollution highlighted indoor air quality as a significant issue for public health. The Department engages both across Government and externally on air quality and health. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has published guidance on the ventilation of indoor spaces to reduce the spread of respiratory infections, which is available at the following link:
The UKHSA also has a Cleaner Air Programme, which includes efforts to increase the evidence base and raise awareness of indoor air quality and its health impacts, especially in settings like homes, schools, and public places. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has published guidance on indoor air quality in residential buildings which outlines steps that can be taken to mitigate health risks. These guidelines are available at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng149
The funding of logistical support for public spaces is generally the responsibility of the authority that owns and operates those spaces.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the answer of 22 October 2024 to Question 9455 on Air Pollution: Poverty, if he will take steps to reduce the number of schools in England that are in areas exceeding World Health Organisation guidelines for fine particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
The Government is determined to improve air quality and protect children from the harms of pollution, and is committed to meeting the legal targets for air quality, including the targets recently set under the Environment Act 2021. The Department of Health and Social Care is working across Government to achieve this, including with the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs on their Clean Air Strategy to reduce emissions and reduce harms associated with air pollution.
Local air quality is the responsibility of local authorities, who should prepare air quality action plans to ensure the level of pollutants is reduced, if it is not compliant with relevant limits. Local authorities are responsible for monitoring air quality in their areas and will decide where to undertake their monitoring, which may be around schools. The Government will continue to work with local authorities to support their work on improving air quality. Active Travel England and the Department for Transport are working on guidance for local authorities to help them implement School Streets vehicle access restrictions effectively.
Asked by: Ben Spencer (Conservative - Runnymede and Weybridge)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of (a) motorway noise and (b) air pollution from the M25 on schools in (i) Addlestone, (ii) Chertsey, (iii) Downside, (iv) Egham, (v) New Haw and (vi) Row Town in 2023-24.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Local outdoor air quality is the responsibility of local authorities who should prepare local air quality strategies to ensure that air quality in their area is improved.
The department takes the health, safety, and wellbeing of school users very seriously and publishes a range of guidance documents, such as the Building Bulletins, which support the provision of healthy school environments.
Where the department is centrally delivering school building projects, such as through the School Rebuilding Programme, all relevant and necessary surveys will be undertaken on the projects to inform the scheme proposals, and this list of surveys will be informed by local context and guidance from the Local Planning Authority and Statutory Consultees.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of air pollution on neighbourhoods with high levels of poverty.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
Although air pollution can be harmful to everyone, some people are more affected because they live in a polluted area, are exposed to higher levels of air pollution in their day-to-day lives, or are more susceptible to health problems caused by air pollution, such as cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, lung cancer, and a shortened life expectancy.
There is clear evidence that people with a low income are affected by air pollution in a number of different ways. The disadvantages that come about as a result of poor income add up, with deprived populations who are more likely to be in poor health, and are at greater risk from air pollution and its adverse health impacts. These inequalities can affect people throughout their lives, from the prenatal stage through to old age, particularly as deprived communities often have limited opportunities to improve their environment. Further information on pollution is available at the following link:
A 2021 study by the UK Health Security Agency found that one-third of the schools in England were in areas exceeding World Health Organisation guidelines for fine particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations. Schools with higher annual mean PM2.5 concentrations are more likely to have a high deprived pupil intake and be in neighbourhoods with high levels of child income deprivation compounding existing socioeconomic disadvantages.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to tackle (a) poor indoor air quality and (b) its impact on the health and wellbeing of people in (i) Newcastle-under-Lyme constituency, (ii) Staffordshire and (iii) England.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
Air pollution has reduced significantly since the 1980s, but remains one of the most significant environmental risks to public health in the United Kingdom. Improving the environment in which we live, work, and play is critical to supporting people to live longer, healthier lives. The Department continues to work collaboratively across Government on ways of improving both indoor and outdoor air quality.
The UK Health Security Agency supports the development of evidence on the health impacts of indoor air quality on health. Its Cleaner Air Programme includes efforts both to build the evidence base and to raise awareness of indoor air quality and its health impacts, especially in settings such as homes, schools, and public places.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has also published guidance on indoor air quality at home, designed to raise awareness of the importance of good air quality in people's homes and advise on how to achieve this. We will continue to work across Government on air quality as part of the Health Mission.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the proposed WHO Pandemic Preparedness Treaty, due to be considered by the 77th World Health Assembly in May, will include provisions to improve indoor air quality.
Answered by Lord Markham - Shadow Minister (Science, Innovation and Technology)
The United Kingdom welcomes the Pandemic Accord as an opportunity to strengthen global health security. Improving indoor air quality remains an important issue in public health. However, as the Accord aims to establish a high-level framework for pandemic prevention, preparedness and response, we have pursued action on this specific issue in other multilateral settings.
The UK continues to support international improvements to indoor air pollution through its engagement with the World Health Organization (WHO). For example, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) contributed to WHO projects in 2020 and 2022 to assess combined exposure to multiple chemicals in indoor air in schools. UKHSA continues to work with the International Society on Indoor Air Quality and Climate on the development of an open database on international indoor environmental quality guidelines. The database aims to be actively used by researchers, practitioners, and policymakers across the world.
Moreover, the UK was a strong advocate for action to improve indoor air quality at last year’s United Nations General Assembly. We worked with international partners on this issue during the High-Level Meeting on Universal Health Coverage. The UK was supportive of reference being made to the health impacts of indoor air pollution, which was subsequently adopted in the meeting’s political declaration on 5 October 2023, and is available on the United Nations website in an online-only format.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will update guidance for schools on mitigating poor air quality.
Answered by Damian Hinds
The department takes the health, safety and wellbeing of school users very seriously. ‘Building Bulletin 101’, published by the department, provides non-statutory guidance on ventilation, thermal comfort and indoor air quality in schools. This is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/building-bulletin-101-ventilation-for-school-buildings.
Further guidance on ventilation is included in the ‘Good Estate Management for Schools’ guidance, which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/good-estate-management-for-schools/health-and-safety. The department has also produced operational guidance on using CO2 monitors and managing ventilation, which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/using-co-monitors-and-air-cleaning-units-in-education-and-care-settings.
The department regularly reviews its guidance to ensure that it aligns with best practice and industry standards, to deliver high-quality school environments.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to improve air quality around schools.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Shadow Minister (Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Government provides support to local authorities to deliver School Streets and funds a range of school interventions including the Walk to School Outreach Programme, which give children and their families safe active travel choices and reduce congestion around schools.
To tackle air pollution around schools, local councils have powers to issue Fixed Penalty Notices for vehicle idling.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
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 provide additional funding to organisations that increase awareness of how people can protect themselves from air pollution.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Shadow Minister (Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The grant has been running since 1997 and regularly funds projects aimed at increasing the awareness of the impacts of air pollution. Around £53 million has been awarded across almost 500 projects through the Air Quality Grant scheme since 2010. Projects have included anti-idling campaigns around schools, raising awareness about the impacts of domestic burning, and measures to encourage active travel.