Asked by: Emma Foody (Labour (Co-op) - Cramlington and Killingworth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information her Department holds on levels of air pollution at Moor Farm Roundabout between the A19, A1 and A189 in each of the last five years.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
National Highways does not have any air quality monitoring for Moor Farm Roundabout and has not monitored here, or similar locations, because there are no sensitive receptors such as houses or schools anywhere nearby.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help ensure that air pollution levels near (a) schools, (b) hospitals and (c) GP surgeries do not exceed the World Health Organisation's recommended limits.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government is committed to continue reducing everyone’s exposure to air pollution. We are developing a series of further interventions to reduce emissions from key sources. We have set a Population Exposure Reduction Target for PM2.5, which will continue to reduce peoples’ average exposure across the country. We will consider WHO guidelines as part of an evidence led process when considering future targets and plan to publish a revised Environmental Improvement Plan later this year, which will set out the action we intend to take on air quality.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many hospital admissions for preventable cardiovascular disease there have been in each of the past three years.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold data on the number of admissions for cardiovascular disease which are preventable. However, we know that up to 70% of cardiovascular disease is preventable and linked to behavioural, metabolic, and environmental risk factors such as high blood pressure, smoking, living with obesity, and air pollution.
The Government is tackling the root cause of preventable heart disease and stroke through the landmark Tobacco and Vapes Bill, implementing advertising regulations for less healthy food and drink to children on television and online, and giving councils stronger, clearer powers to block the development of new fast-food shops near schools.
Asked by: Brian Mathew (Liberal Democrat - Melksham and Devizes)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure the enforcement of guidelines on air quality in schools.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The responsible body, relevant local authority, academy trust or voluntary-aided body, is responsible for ensuring the health, safety and welfare of pupils when in their care including meeting any relevant standards for internal environments.
The department publishes non-statutory guidance on indoor 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.
All new department-delivered schools are designed and constructed to the department’s school building standards. These standards cover ventilation and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/employers-requirements-part-b-generic-design-brief.
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 - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
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 - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
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.