Around 40,000 people die prematurely from air pollution each year in the UK, according to the Royal College of Physicians, at a cost of £20 billion a year. It’s time for the Government to take decisive action. The big fear is that the Government will try to escape through the Brexit door, to avoid having to fulfil EU air quality standards, which have seen them in the dock of the High Court on four occasions, guilty as charged.

Clean Air APPG

As chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Air Pollution, I get to lead cross-party discussions on how to improve air quality in the UK. You can find the latest news here: https://appgairpollution.org/news/

Clean Air Bill

I’m pleased to have support from academics and experts in Swansea, as well as MPs across the House, for my Clean Air Bill.

Several cities in the UK have exceeded air pollution limits set by the World Health Organisation, including Swansea. My Bill sets out a blueprint for a new air quality strategy to tackle the massive public health risk that air pollution represents. The Bill would:

• Require the government to set and enforce air quality targets;
• Tighten vehicle emissions targets;
• Protect children and the elderly from harmful emissions;
• Provide more pedestrianised areas and cycle lanes;
• Promote the use of a fiscal strategy to tackle air pollution, including through the use of diesel scrappage schemes.

My Bill has cross-party support from over twenty MPs including the Lib Dem’s Tim Farron, the SNP’s John McNally, and the Conservative MP Derek Thomas.

As a member of the Environmental Audit Committee, I asked Secretary of State Michael Gove whether he thought it was time to bring forward a holistic Clean Air Act. He agreed that the government should create new legislation to tackle our toxic air. My Clean Air Bill provides the blue print for this legislation and the government should support it if they mean what they say about leaving the environment in a better state for future generations.

Working with: