This week in Parliament, the leader of the Westminster Commission for Road Air Quality, Barry Sheerman MP, questioned the Under-Secretary of State for Transport, Rachel Maclean, exactly how government are planning to tackle air pollution.
Sheerman asked whether the government will implement a mandatory sustainable transport plan for every local authority. He pushed Maclean on whether government had any sense of urgency to implement greener policies on local authorities, such as investing in electric or hybrid taxis and buses.
In response, Maclean cited the emergency active travel grant. This fund has allocated £250 million for local authorities to support cycling and walking facilities. The funding is divided between installing temporary projects in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well towards the creation of longer-term projects. Yet, Maclean did not directly respond to Sheerman’s question of whether she would ‘support our new commission on road air quality?’.
See below for the video of Barry Sheerman MP’s road air quality question
The Westminster Commission for Road Air Quality continues its campaign to implement air quality monitoring equipment on every refuse collection vehicle. This will create a road map of pollution that static monitors are not equipped to measure. Having this information will produce reliable solutions that can improve air health. Find out more here.
