Twenty-Second Report - Tackling local air quality breaches
Select Committee
Public Accounts Committee
HC 37
26 October 2022
Government Response (AI assessment · 29 of 33 classified)
Accepted
10
Acknowledged
11
Deferred
2
Rejected
5
Government response
Treasury minutes: Government response to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Twenty second report from Session 2022-23 · published 14 Dec 2022
Recommendations & Conclusions
10 results
2
Recommendation
Accepted
There is a high level of uncertainty in government’s model for assessing pollution levels, which...
Recommendation
There is a high level of uncertainty in government’s model for assessing pollution levels, which may mean that further areas of poor air quality might be missed by the programme. Government uses a national model to identify areas that are …
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Government Response Summary
The government states that the best available evidence has been used to identify areas exceeding pollution limits and that the national model meets uncertainty requirements. They will continue to improve the model and have increased the number of monitoring locations. They will consider local authority monitoring data if it meets AQSR requirements.
HM Treasury
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5
Recommendation
Accepted
Government is not yet taking a sufficiently integrated approach to tackling the problem of poor...
Recommendation
Government is not yet taking a sufficiently integrated approach to tackling the problem of poor air quality. Measures to tackle air pollution on the strategic road network risk displacing heavy vehicle traffic onto local roads. Although government is aware of …
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Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the recommendation and states they have consulted on a revised National Air Pollution Control Programme (NAPCP) which includes robust actionable measures for further consideration to deliver compliance with the 2030 targets for all air pollutants.
HM Treasury
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6
Recommendation
Accepted
There is a lot resting on the updated plan that government expects to publish if...
Recommendation
There is a lot resting on the updated plan that government expects to publish if 2030 air quality targets are to be met. The UK may have missed its target for national ammonia emissions in 2020, and existing policy measures …
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Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the recommendation and states they have consulted on a revised National Air Pollution Control Programme (NAPCP) that includes robust actionable measures to deliver compliance with the 2030 targets for all air pollutants.
HM Treasury
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14
Recommendation
Accepted
The UK Air website is government’s main source of communication on air quality, but it...
Recommendation
The UK Air website is government’s main source of communication on air quality, but it is fairly impenetrable to the general public.11 While the website provides a high- level air pollution forecast, and allows users to download air quality datasets, …
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Government Response Summary
The government agrees to improve communication of air quality information to the public through a comprehensive Air Quality Information System (AQIS) Review, with outcomes published on UK-AIR and a final report in early 2024, and a major overhaul of the UK-Air website by March 2025.
HM Treasury
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16
Conclusion
Accepted
National Highways acknowledge that the accessibility of the government’s data on air quality is an...
Conclusion
National Highways acknowledge that the accessibility of the government’s data on air quality is an issue, and Defra told us that it is reviewing its social media and online offering over the next 18 months. It particularly highlighted the need …
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Government Response Summary
The government recognizes the need to effectively communicate air quality information to the public and launched a comprehensive Air Quality Information System (AQIS) Review to ensure members of the public have what they need; outcomes will be published on UK-AIR with a final report in early 2024, and the government aims to complete the web system review by March 2025.
HM Treasury
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17
Conclusion
Accepted
Government uses national and local modelling, together with two national networks of monitoring stations, to...
Conclusion
Government uses national and local modelling, together with two national networks of monitoring stations, to direct its actions on air quality, with directions to local authorities issued primarily on the basis of a national model identifying areas of likely exceedance …
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Government Response Summary
The government stated it is satisfied with its existing modelling and monitoring networks, which meet compliance requirements, and continues to implement targeted improvements, acknowledging that local authorities can share evidence of potential breaches.
HM Treasury
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19
Conclusion
Accepted
DfT told us that it takes account of the uncertainty in the model when identifying...
Conclusion
DfT told us that it takes account of the uncertainty in the model when identifying local authorities requiring action, and that it worked with local authorities to update and reopen the model as required based on local monitoring.25 However Defra …
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Government Response Summary
The government states it is satisfied that the best available evidence is used to identify areas needing action, continues to improve the national model, and has already established a new monitoring network to increase the number of locations assessing NO2 compliance.
HM Treasury
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22
Conclusion
Accepted
We asked if departments had considered revisiting the assumption of a clean air zone as...
Conclusion
We asked if departments had considered revisiting the assumption of a clean air zone as the baseline for judging local authority plans, given that there have been delays to implementation. DfT told us that the evidence from the latest annual …
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Government Response Summary
Local authorities are responsible for developing their own Clean Air Plans, with government support; they can use measures other than Clean Air Zones if compliance can be achieved as quickly.
HM Treasury
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30
Conclusion
Accepted
In addition to working with local authorities, the Department for Transport and the Department for...
Conclusion
In addition to working with local authorities, the Department for Transport and the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs needs to ensure it is working with other sectors with either an interest in, or an influence on, air quality, …
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Government Response Summary
The government agrees and has consulted on a revised National Air Pollution Control Programme (NAPCP) with actionable measures to deliver compliance with the 2030 targets and ensure full integration between different areas of responsibility.
HM Treasury
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31
Conclusion
Accepted
The Department for Transport highlighted that local authorities are seeing addressing air quality not as...
Conclusion
The Department for Transport highlighted that local authorities are seeing addressing air quality not as a compliance issue, but as something to be considered more broadly as part of transport and local regeneration policies.56 We also heard about a pilot …
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Government Response Summary
The government disagreed with the committee's implied premise, asserting that local authorities are important partners and it already engages regularly with them and provides significant air quality grants for public awareness.
HM Treasury
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