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Tackling local air quality breaches

Inquiry

The UK has air quality targets which specify legal limits of major pollutants at a local and a national level. While emissions of most air pollutants have been falling in recent decades, air quality continues to cause significant health, economic and environmental risks, and the UK is not currently meeting its statutory obligations for local concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2).

Government aims to tackle NO2 breaches through a programme of measures led by local authorities and by National Highways. Measures include bus retrofit schemes and speed restrictions, and in some areas, Clean Air Zones where vehicle owners are required to pay a charge if their vehicle does not meet a certain emissions standard.  

The Committee will question the senior responsible officials at Defra, DfT and Highways England on the government’s approach to clean air and how effectively it is tackling breaches of local air quality limits, including:

·      Whether government’s programme to tackle breaches of local air quality limits is well set;

·      The progress government has made in delivering this programme and what has been spent, and

·      How government is managing ongoing risks to tackling local breaches of air quality.

 If you have evidence on these issues please submit it here by 6pm Monday 20 June.

This inquiry is no longer accepting evidence

The deadline for submissions was Monday 20 June 2022.

Reports, special reports and government responses

View all reports and responses
Twenty-Second Report - Tackling local air quality breaches
Inquiry Tackling local air quality breaches
HC 37
Report
Response to this report
Correspondence from the the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, dated 28 February 2023 relating to the inquiry Tackling Local Air Quality Breaches
HC 37
Correspondence
Response to this report
Treasury minutes: Government response to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Twenty second report from Session 2022-23
HC 37
Government Response
Joint correspondence from David Hill, Director General for Environment, Rural and Marine and Gareth Davies, Second Permanent Secretary of the Department for Transport to Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, Deputy Chair of the Committee of Public Accounts, re Air Quality PAC: Follow-Up Response, dated 11 July 2022
Inquiry Tackling local air quality breaches
Correspondence
Joint correspondence from Gareth Davies Second, Permanent Secretary of the Department for Transport and David Hill Director General for Environment, Rural and Marine to Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, Deputy Chair, Committee of Public Accounts, re Air Quality PAC: Follow-up response regarding the publication of the 2021 Air Quality Annual Compliance Assessment, dated 29 September 2022
Inquiry Tackling local air quality breaches
Correspondence

Oral evidence transcripts

View all oral evidence transcripts
27 June 2022
Inquiry Tackling local air quality breaches
Oral Evidence
Thames Crossing Action Group (LAQ0001)
City of London Corporation (LAQ0002)
Clean Air in London (LAQ0003)

Contact us

  • Email: pubaccom@parliament.uk
  • Phone: 020 7219 8480 (strictly media enquiries only – contact us via our email for general enquiries)
  • Address: Public Accounts Committee, House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA