The Environment Food and Rural Affairs, Environmental Audit,
Health, and Transport Committees have re-launched their joint
inquiry into improving air quality.
In July 2017, after UK courts twice ruled that the Government’s
plans to cut air pollution were inadequate, the Government
released a new air quality plan. The cross-party
inquiry will examine whether this new plan goes far enough, fast
enough to both meet legal limits and to deliver the maximum
environmental and health benefits.
MP, Chair of the Health
Committee, said: “There is an increasing amount of evidence
showing the impact of nitrogen dioxide and invisible particulates
on human health. Many people are aware of their impact on our
lungs and hearts, but new evidence suggests that they could also
contribute to diseases a disparate as dementia and
diabetes.”
Local authorities play a central role in delivering plans on the
ground. Leaders from a number of councils across
England wrote to
Ministers criticising the latest plans.
MP, Chair of the Environmental
Audit Committee, said: “The Government are on their third
attempt to meet legal air quality standards. Local authorities
have said the Government’s plan for air pollution does not go far
enough to help the millions of people living with illegally high
levels of air pollution today. Ministers will now face
unprecedented scrutiny in Parliament to ensure they are doing
everything necessary to protect people from filthy air.”
With several Government departments having a role in managing air
pollution, the inquiry will explore how effectively departments
work together across Whitehall to tackle air pollution.
MP, Chair of
the Environment Food and Rural Affairs Committee, said:
“When the leaders of Liverpool, Leeds, Southampton, Oxford,
Leicester and Birmingham say that the Government’s plans to
reduce pollution will not allow them to meet legal pollution
limits, it is a cause for concern. Our joint inquiry allows MPs
to hold to account Ministers from key Departments on how
effectively the Government is joining up work to clean up the
UK’s air.”
Road transport is a key contributor to air pollution. The
Government’s plan includes proposals for ‘clean air zones’ to
limit polluting vehicles from driving in high pollution areas and
an end to the sale of petrol and diesel vehicles by 2040.
MP, Chair of the Transport
Select Committee, said: “The Department for Transport needs
to harness the potential of schemes such as electric vehicles,
clean buses and diesel scrappage which all demonstrate that the
transport sector is capable of coming up with solutions to tackle
poor air quality. Real change is possible if Government leads
from the front to co-ordinate an effective response to one of the
biggest issues of our time.”
Terms of reference
The Committee invites written submissions on the following key
questions:
- o How effectively do Government policies
take into account the health and environmental impacts of poor
air quality?
- o Do these plans set out effective and
proportionate measures to achieve necessary emissions reductions
as quickly as possible?
- o Are other nations or cities taking
more effective action that the UK can learn from?
- o Is there enough cross-government
collaboration to set in place the right fiscal and policy
incentives?
- o How can those charged with delivering
national plans at local level be best supported and challenged?
Deadline for submissions
Written evidence should be submitted through the Improving air quality
inquiry page by 5 pm on Thursday 9
November.
The Committees value diversity and seek to ensure this where
possible. We encourage members of underrepresented groups to
submit written evidence.
