WCRAQ Chair Barry Sheerman looks ahead to the opportunities for air quality progress under the new Labour Government and emphasises the importance of WCRAQ’s continuing work to highlight the issues, gather the expertise, develop innovative solutions and pressure those in power to take action.
In this report for the Westminster Commission for Road Air Quality members, it would be daft not to start with the opportunities and challenges the new Labour Government unveiled in the King’s Speech. First, there are specific mentions of clean air and sustainability in the commitment to a Better Buses Bill: ‘A modern transport network is vital to kickstarting economic growth. Buses are the lifeblood of our communities, connecting us to opportunities, providing access to services, improving air quality, and tackling climate change.’
The Sustainable Aviation Fuel (Revenue Support Mechanism) Bill is the other major bill. This will support sustainable aviation fuel production in the UK, driving down our emissions, kickstarting economic growth, and making Britain a clean energy superpower. It is estimated that it will contribute over £1.8 billion to the economy and support over 10,000 jobs nationwide while driving decarbonisation.
There are new state secretaries for environmental, transport, and local government, as well as a cohort of new MPs interested in our area of air quality. This will allow us to make connections, create dialogue and present evidence to the new teams as they settle into Westminster and Whitehall.
Over the last few months, we have been very active as a commission. We have continued our regular pattern of working party meetings, which are extremely valuable in terms of the grassroots in our organisation, listening to key people in the industry, and engaging in the atmosphere and culture of very different regions across the UK.
This national approach is vital to the future of the Westminster Commission for Road Air Quality, and one of our critical priorities with the incoming government will be seeing through my early bill on improving the vehicle’s diesel particular filter check in the MOT. There’s every chance it will be adopted and accepted by the new government, but we mustn’t take anything for granted. We must also continue our campaign to get regular air quality checks throughout our communities and constituencies and ensure they are reported back annually to the government.
When we started WCRAQ, we vowed to be guided by evidence, so we set up working parties with the best experts in the country. In this spirit, we recently had a highly successful visit to the JCB heavy vehicle and truck factory, where we looked at the exciting innovation of hydrogen-powered large vehicles. The potential of hydrogen power is a cause for hope, and we hope to continue this great relationship with JCB.
Likewise, some of us also visited Cummins at its Huddersfield site, and we repeatedly heard the phrase ‘hydrogen energy’. Hydrogen power is not a distant dream but a reality that will be here in three to five years.
We also recently organised an invigorating Air Monitoring Working Party meeting at Protea in Peterborough, where we saw beautiful examples of high-quality equipment used to measure the pollution emitted from vehicles. We saw some eye-opening tests on cars with an excellent particulate filter fitted versus a faulty one. We were even honoured by the Mayor of Peterborough, Marco Celeste, who turned up to open the conference and reaffirm Peterborough’s commitment to being a clean city which will dramatically reduce levels of air pollution.
Although I’m no longer a member of Parliament, I will remain very active in all the social enterprises and organisations I work with. Going forward, we must continue bringing together people with knowledge, experience, passion and courage as we rededicate ourselves to this vital cause. Our commitment is more important than ever. We must deliver the truth to this new government that there is an invisible poison affecting the health of our whole society, including the most vulnerable.
As Professor Lewis said in Harrogate at OWL North: ‘You don’t need me as a scientist to tell you that the worst air in our country is breathed by the poorest people, in the poorest areas of our towns.’
There’s so much to do; let’s get to it.
