Government launches draft plan to improve air quality, placing local authority action at its core

The government published a draft Air Quality Strategy on 11 April 2023 and has launched a short consultation seeking views on the revised strategy. The draft Strategy is the government’s strategic framework for local authorities principally, setting out their powers, responsibilities and actions the government expects them to take in support of achieving the government’s long-term air quality goals, including the new PM2.5 targets set under the Environment Act 2021 and the recent Environmental Improvement Plan.

The Strategy recognises that air quality continues to be one of the leading environmental risks to public health, the natural environment and biodiversity, and the government places local authorities in England at the forefront of delivering cleaner air for communities and nature. Local authorities already have a duty to address air quality exceedances in their area, including declaring Air Quality Management Areas and publishing Air Quality Action Plans, and are expected to take preventative action, through a local Air Quality Strategy. The draft Strategy expands on those responsibilities.

Key elements of the draft Air Quality Strategy

• The government expects all local authorities to effectively use their powers to reduce PM2.5 emissions from the sources which are within their control. Most action will be directed towards the three pollutants which have the majority of impact - fine particulate matter, nitrogen oxides and ammonia. If the government considers local action has not gone far enough, they will consider introducing a statutory duty on local authorities.
• As set out in the government’s Environmental Improvement Plan, Defra will audit local authority action on air quality, including the powers available and any barriers to delivery.
• While industrial emissions have decreased significantly, they remain a significant source of pollution. Local authorities are expected to take a robust and proportionate enforcement approach.
• UK Best Available Techniques framework for large and medium industry will continue to be rolled out.
• The government is considering closer alignment between the Local Air Quality Management framework and permitting regimes, so that swifter, more complementary action can be taken to resolve local air quality issues.
• Boosting local authority regulatory capacity and capability is also under review, including exploring how the fees and charges system can be improved to provide better cost recovery.
• Agriculture is the largest source of ammonia and contributes to PM2.5 through chemical reactions in the atmosphere. While not having direct regulatory powers over agriculture, local authorities are expected to exercise their wider functions to minimise emissions from this source.
• The government will consult on bringing dairy and intensive beef farms within scope of environmental permitting and new rules to reduce ammonia emissions from organic manure, including requirements for low emission techniques for slurry and digestate spreading and storage.

The draft Strategy and consultation have both come under fire for their brevity; the previous 2007 Air Quality Strategy was 342 pages long, whereas the updated draft is just 41 pages, and the consultation is only open for two weeks, closing on 21 April. The Strategy certainly lacks detail, particularly on how local authorities should move forward in practice to meet the government’s expectations and air quality targets, and what, if any, resourcing and funding local authorities will receive to address this challenge.

What is clear, however, is the prominence placed on local authority action. Whether that materialises remains to be seen, but large installations and medium combustion plants would be well advised to prepare for the possibility of greater attention, monitoring and scrutiny being paid by local authorities and the Environment Agency to any exceedances and permitting compliance generally.

A final strategy will be published by 1 May 2023.

If you would like to explore how you may be impacted by the Strategy and related compliance obligations, please contact me or the wider environmental team.

By taking action in communities across the country, local authorities have a pivotal role to play in improving air quality, and they should listen to local residents and local businesses to find solutions that work best for their local area Environment Minister, Rebecca Pow