Rushanara Ali – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rushanara Ali on 2016-09-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if the Government will take steps to work with local authorities to install air pollution monitoring facilities outside primary and secondary schools in (a) London and (b) England.

Dr Thérèse Coffey

Defra monitors, models and reports air quality at a national level in accordance with the requirements of EU and international legislation. There are 272 monitoring stations in the UK national monitoring network, of which 21 are in Greater London and 83 in England.

Local authorities are responsible for reviewing and assessing local air quality, including decisions on local air quality monitoring. Their local knowledge and interaction with the communities that they serve mean that they know the issues on the ground in detail and the solutions that are best suited to local circumstances.

Defra provides guidance, including helpdesk advice to local authorities on the appropriate type of monitoring to install. Where local authorities conduct air quality monitoring, they are expected to site monitors in accordance with local and national priorities, which may include schools and other locations where there is high risk of public exposure.