‘We must combat pandemic of UK’s filthy air’

Today, the Government misses its own deadline to set vital air quality targets. My daughter, Ella, was the first person in the world to have air pollution from traffic fumes listed as a cause of death on her death certificate.In February 2023 it will have been ten years since her death, and the number of children dying from asthma in the UK remains unchanged.I thought Ella’s death, along with the hundreds of studies linking air pollution to asthma, dementia, depression, lung cancer, brain cancer, and miscarriages, would compel the Government to take serious action to tackle this invisible pandemic.So far, I have been desperately disappointed.This is a public health emergency. Tens of thousands die in the UK due to air pollution every year, yet this remains an issue many people do not know about. Last week, a Public Accounts Committee report concluded that more needs to be done by the Government to communicate bad air quality to the public, and to explain what they are doing about it.At the moment, the answer to that question is not enough. Last week I wrote to new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to remind him that pollution is not a partisan issue: it affects us all.  We have a human right to breathe clean air and saving lives must always be the Government’s top priority.After all, cleaning up the air has no downsides. It helps ease the burden on the NHS – one of Sunak’s stated priorities – and the CBI estimates that bringing UK air quality within the World Health Organisation guidelines could deliver an annual economic boost of £1.6 billion per year.Though the Government has missed its end-of-October deadline, there is still time.Getting the air quality targets right under the Environment Act is our once-in-a-generation opportunity to ensure that children born now, can grow up breathing safe, healthy air. As I discovered, children are the most vulnerable, with air pollution stunting the development of their lungs, hearts and brains.In my letter, I requested an urgent meeting with the PM. This is not something that can wait until 2030, or 2040. We are already falling far behind many other nations around the world who are tackling air pollution with the seriousness it requires. We need to act now.