Value for Money
Tackling local breaches of air quality
Published 17 June 2022
10 recommendations
Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs
Energy and environmentLocal governmentLocal services and housingPollution and environmental quality
nao.org.uk
This report examines government’s progress in tackling local breaches of NO2 limits and its performance on air quality more broadly.
Recommendations (10)
Source: NAO Recommendations Tracker
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Rec 1
Accepted
Work in Progress
Defra should:
a) ensure that the update to the National Air Pollution Control Programme includes sufficient clarity on how proposed measures will enable the UK to achieve its 2030 targets and the timetable for implementation, given there are now eight years to the deadline, and policies will take time to develop and take effect
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Rec 10
Accepted
Implemented
j) review their approach to public engagement on Clean Air Zones to do more to ensure that there is good understanding across the country of the purpose of these zones, how and why charging regimes differ and to ensure that all road users are aware of how to check whether their vehicle is compliant and make payments if needed. As part of this, JAQU should seek to coordinate with the behaviour change and public engagement team for Net Zero within BEIS, to understand whether public engagement about Clean Air Zones can be amplified alongside wider messaging about Net Zero where there is overlap in the policy options
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Rec 2
Partially Accepted
Work in Progress
b) clarify its long-term (2040) ambitions for all major air pollutants, taking account of the plans of international partners, and identify interim (2030) objectives where these do not already exist
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; Department for Transport
Rec 3
Accepted
Implemented
Defra, DfT and JAQU should: f) review and clarify interim milestones for the expected timetable for the remainder of the Programme, re-baselining to account for delays introduced by the COVID-19 pandemic
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Rec 4
Accepted
Implemented
c) improve the accessibility and usability of air quality information for the public
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Rec 5
Rejected
d) collate information on government?s committed/actual spend on measures it expects to make a substantial contribution to improving air quality, alongside the expected/actual impact these measures are having
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Rec 6
Accepted
Implemented
e) together with BEIS, clarify its framework for making decisions about the interdependencies between its work on air quality and Net Zero, and identify clear and specific senior responsibilities for handling the most significant trade-offs and opportunities
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; Department for Transport
Rec 7
Accepted
Implemented
g) collate consistent and complete information on progress against these milestones, including reasons for any further delays and carry out a periodic (at least six monthly) stock-take of progress to consider overall trends and any
solutions needed at a national or programme level
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; Department for Transport
Rec 8
Partially Accepted
Implemented
h) publish six-monthly updates on the progress of the Programme, including
the measures local authorities expect to take, their expected implementation date and expected date of local compliance and consider encouraging local authorities to share an update of their progress publicly
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; Department for Transport
Rec 9
Accepted
Work in Progress
i) Defra should set and agree with DfT, JAQU and National Highways the outline criteria for ?non-viable? measures. Defra should then publish these criteria. The Department for Transport, together with National Highways, should report on an annual basis on breaches where it considers there are no viable measures explaining what options were considered. This should cover no viable measures breaches both in local authorities and on the Strategic Road Network