Twenty-Second Report - Tackling local air quality breaches

Select Committee

Public Accounts Committee HC 37 26 October 2022

Report Status Government responded

Conclusions & Recommendations 33 items (6 recs)

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Government Response (AI assessment · 29 of 33 classified)

Accepted 10

Accepted in Part 1

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

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Recommendations & Conclusions

11 results

7 Conclusion Acknowledged

On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence...

Conclusion

On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, the Department for Transport, and National Highways on their work to tackle poor air quality in … Read more

Government Response Summary

Acknowledges the committee's report and provides background information on the government's approach to tackling air quality, including the NO2 programme, Clean Air Zones, and funding for local authorities and the Strategic Road Network.

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8 Conclusion Acknowledged

While emissions of most air pollutants have been falling in recent decades in the UK,...

Conclusion

While emissions of most air pollutants have been falling in recent decades in the UK, poor air quality continues to cause damage to people’s health and the natural environment. The Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants estimated that … Read more

Government Response Summary

The government acknowledges the impact of poor air quality and the legal limits in place, referencing the Joint Air Quality Unit (JAQU) and measures like bus retrofits and Clean Air Zones (CAZs).

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9 Conclusion Acknowledged

The UK complied with most of these legal limits between 2010 and 2019 with the...

Conclusion

The UK complied with most of these legal limits between 2010 and 2019 with the exception of the local concentration limits for NO2, for which there have been longstanding breaches in some areas of the country. The country may also … Read more

Government Response Summary

The government acknowledges breaches of NO2 limits and the upcoming update to the National Air Pollution Control Programme.

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10 Conclusion Acknowledged

The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Department for Transport (DfT)...

Conclusion

The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Department for Transport (DfT) established the Joint Air Quality Unit (JAQU) in 2016 to oversee delivery of government’s plans to achieve compliance with NO2 limits. The NO2 Programme is … Read more

Government Response Summary

The government acknowledges the role of the Joint Air Quality Unit (JAQU) and the NO2 Programme in addressing air quality issues.

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11 Conclusion Acknowledged

Since 2017 Defra and DfT have jointly issued directions to 64 local authorities.

Conclusion

Since 2017 Defra and DfT have jointly issued directions to 64 local authorities. It has also identified 31 sections of the Strategic Road Network that are above the limit value and therefore non-compliant. Measures to tackle NO2 pollution include bus … Read more

Government Response Summary

The government has directed 64 local authorities to take action to improve air quality through its NO2 programme, and has commissioned National Highways to examine breaches on the Strategic Road Network in England, with £883 million committed to the Programme and £39 million spent to improve air quality on the Strategic Road Network.

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15 Conclusion Acknowledged

Issues of poor air quality are often highly localised: the 31 non-compliant sections of the...

Conclusion

Issues of poor air quality are often highly localised: the 31 non-compliant sections of the Strategic Road Network represent about 51 miles of road, out of the 4,500 managed by National Highways.13 National Highways estimates about 240 to 250 houses … Read more

Government Response Summary

The government states National Highways has engaged with local authorities and MPs, and the Joint Air Quality Unit is considering how best to make information available via public engagement channels to address awareness issues.

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18 Conclusion Acknowledged

DfT explained to us that the national model ‘fills in the gaps’ in data collected...

Conclusion

DfT explained to us that the national model ‘fills in the gaps’ in data collected by its monitoring stations to create a kilometre by a kilometre map of air quality across the country, and forecasts to 2030.23 DfT also told … Read more

Government Response Summary

The government agrees that the best available evidence is used to identify areas in exceedance and bring them into the programme, and that they continue to work with experts to improve the model and have set up a new monitoring network, and where monitoring identifies a potential breach, local authorities can share the information with the Joint Air Quality Unit.

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20 Conclusion Acknowledged

Defra and DfT also wrote to us to explain that local monitoring is not directly...

Conclusion

Defra and DfT also wrote to us to explain that local monitoring is not directly fed into Defra’s national model in real time, particularly as many local measurements do not meet the data requirements for inclusion in the national NO2 … Read more

Government Response Summary

The government acknowledges the uncertainty in the national model but states it meets requirements for assessing compliance and that they continue to work with experts to improve it and have set up a new monitoring network that has greatly increased locations where compliance is assessed and has reduced uncertainty.

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24 Conclusion Acknowledged

As at May 2022, a lifetime budget of £883 million has been committed to the...

Conclusion

As at May 2022, a lifetime budget of £883 million has been committed to the NO2 Programme to support local authorities. Separately government has spent £39 million to improve air quality on the Strategic Road Network from 2015–16 to 2019–20. … Read more

Government Response Summary

The government provides figures on spending on NO2 pollution and improving air quality on the Strategic Road Network.

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27 Conclusion Acknowledged

National Highways retains responsibility for addressing air quality issues on the parts of the Strategic...

Conclusion

National Highways retains responsibility for addressing air quality issues on the parts of the Strategic Road Network that pass through urban areas. It told us that, in setting its measures, it needs to ensure it does not do anything that … Read more

Government Response Summary

The government states National Highways has engaged with local authorities and MPs, and the Joint Air Quality Unit is working to consider how to make information available via established public engagement channels.

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32 Conclusion Acknowledged

Existing policy measures will not be sufficient to achieve most of the 2030 emissions ceilings...

Conclusion

Existing policy measures will not be sufficient to achieve most of the 2030 emissions ceilings (Figure 1). Defra told us that Government will soon publish a draft national air pollution control plan to set out policies and measures designed to … Read more Existing policy measures will not be sufficient to achieve most of the 2030 emissions ceilings (Figure 1). Defra told us that Government will soon publish a draft national air pollution control plan to set out policies and measures designed to bring the UK into compliance for 2030. It told us that these plans will build on existing programmes of continuous improvement, such as environmental permitting and work with industry around industrial emissions. Defra told us that building on these existing bodies of work gives some assurance over the feasibility of its proposed measures, but that it also intends to use a consultation period to further test the plans ahead of publication in September.58 53 Q 32 54 LAQ0003 55 LAQ0004 56 Q 40 57 Qq 55, 60 58 Q 2 Tackling local breaches of air quality Part One 23 1.13 Existing policy measures will not be sufficient to achieve most of the 2030 emissions ceilings and government is developing plans for the new policies needed (Figure 4). Projections submitted to the EU in 2019 indicated that targets would be missed, but did not include (as required by the EU) a full modelled scenario showing how compliance with all of the emission reduction commitments could be achieved. Government plans to publish an update to the UK’s National Air Pollution Control Programme in September 2022, in which it expects to outline in detail the measures required to achieve its emissions ceilings. Defra told u sT tahactk tlhienreg alroe cteaclh aniicra ql aunad lity breaches 15 behavioural challenges to reducing emissions of particulate matter, including because of the potential impact of increased energy prices on domestic wood-burning. Figure 4 Figure 1: UK UpKr porjoejecctteedd e memissiiosnssi oconms pcaoremd tpo aermeisdsi otnos ceemilinigsss iino 2n0s3 0ceilings in 2030 The latest government projections show that existing policy measures are insufficient for the UK to achieve most of its 2030 emissions ceilings Emissions (kt) 700 600 500 400 300 20 Show less

Government Response Summary

The government acknowledges that existing policy measures are insufficient to achieve most of the 2030 emissions ceilings and that they 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.

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