I thank noble Lords for their contributions on this important subject. I start by saying, as a number of noble Lords have, that the death of Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah was an absolute tragedy. I pay tribute to her family and friends, particularly her mother, who have all campaigned so tirelessly on this issue and continue to do so.
Turning to Amendment 20, tabled by the noble Baroness, Lady Jones of Whitchurch, the Government recognise the importance of reducing concentrations of PM2.5 and the impact this has on our health. That is why we have included in the Bill the requirement to set a target specifically on PM2.5 concentrations. The Government are following an evidence-based process to inform this and the long-term air quality target. I reassure my noble friend Lord Randall, the noble Lord, Lord Wigley, and the noble Baroness, Lady Walmsley, that it will be ambitious. However, at this stage the full mix of policies and measures required to meet the current WHO guideline level of 10 micrograms per cubic metre is not yet fully understood, and nor is the impact these measures would have on people’s lives. The noble Baroness, Lady Hayman, mentioned the mayor’s study. I am pleased to say that the workings of that study were published last week. Officials are going through them and taking them into account. The letter on this issue recently sent to the Prime Minister by the UK Health Alliance on Climate Change, the BMA and a collaboration of medical colleges will also be taken into account.
Until the Government complete the work and consult the public about the type of restrictions that would need to be placed upon us, particularly in large cities, it would not be appropriate for us to write this limit into law. The target is not being ruled out but, as I said at Second Reading, there is work to do. For example, meeting 10 micrograms in London and other cities is likely to require policies such as a total ban of solid fuel burning in cities and reducing traffic kilometres
across our cities by as much as 50%. It is not right for us to set a target at the stroke of a pen that would impact millions of people and thousands of businesses without first being clear with people and understanding what would be needed. The Government have committed to setting out detailed evidence, including for public consultation, early next year, ahead of setting this target in secondary legislation, which will come before this House for a debate and a vote.
Turning to Amendment 29, tabled by the noble Baroness, Lady Jones of Moulsecoomb, Amendment 49, tabled by the noble Baroness, Lady Jones of Whitchurch, and Amendment 156, tabled by the noble Lord, Lord Kennedy of Southwark, the Government are working with a broad range of experts to ensure that air quality targets are based on the best available science, including the Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants, the UK’s air quality expert group, and a wide range of sector experts. We will ensure that our process is informed by the latest health evidence, including World Health Organization air quality guidelines. Given the breadth of potential targets that could be set under this framework, the WHO guidelines might not be relevant to all targets. Therefore, it would be inappropriate to require the Government to take account of the guidelines when setting or amending all targets. Nor would it be appropriate to require the Government to prepare explanatory statements pertaining to the guidelines for all targets, or to require all targets to be reviewed when the new WHO guidelines are issued.
However, we have baked a review mechanism into the target monitoring and review process. At least every five years, the Government must consider whether further policies are needed to achieve the interim and long-term targets they have set under the Bill. This will mean considering new evidence, including in the context of air quality target updates to World Health Organization guidelines.
Turning to Amendment 156, in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Kennedy, the Government already make air pollution information available through a range of channels, but we are committed to improving the quality of that information first, to ensure that we have clear messaging and strong platforms to host this information. We will be doing this through comprehensive reviews of UK AIR, and the daily air quality index, and dedicating a significant part of the £8 million air quality grant to improving public awareness in local communities of the risks of pollution. This will also help health professionals in advising patients when poor air quality is forecast. We are also looking at working with relevant health charities on longer-term campaigns aimed specifically at vulnerable groups.
Moving to Amendment 21, tabled by the noble Lord, Lord Whitty, I reassure noble Lords that the Government recognise that in setting new air quality targets, it is important to have in place suitable means to monitor progress and to demonstrate whether the targets have been met. To answer noble Lords, particularly the noble Lord, Lord Whitty, there is an established network of air quality monitoring in the UK, and work is ongoing to understand what additional monitoring would be required to underpin the new air quality targets.
As stated in our clean air strategy, we are committed to ensuring continued investment to update and improve this infrastructure, in order to ensure that appropriate assessment is possible and that progress can be tracked. The noble Baroness, Lady Finlay, also made that point.
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It is not possible to monitor the air in every single school location, although we are monitoring in a great many. As we cannot monitor everywhere, modelling enables us to assess air quality in locations without monitoring stations and, on the back of that, to make future projections.
The noble Baroness, Lady Finlay, asked whether Defra is liaising with the DfT and the sector on the not completely understood issue of particulate matter coming from tyres, which is particularly associated with electric vehicles. The answer is yes; a lot of work is going on in that space, which will inform our next steps. Details of the targets set, including requirements for monitoring, will be set out in secondary legislation, following a public consultation at a later stage.
A number of noble Lords questioned the progress being made or commitment by the Government to take action. The Bill is an important part of our process towards tackling issues such as air quality, water quality, biodiversity and others, but it does not exist in isolation. There is a long list of actions we are taking, specifically to tackle air quality associated with transport. Just in recent months, we committed £3.5 billion for charging infrastructure, £1.2 billion to the cycling and walking investment strategy, £2.5 billion to improve local transport through the transforming cities fund, £5 billion for cleaner buses and to boost cycling and walking, £2 billion over five years to cycling and walking and £200 million to the Covid-19 active travel fund, which was announced by the Secretary of State. As noble Lords know, we have committed to ending the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2030. We brought that forward based on the evidence we received. I believe the original target was 2040, then 2035. We now think that 2030 is in reach, because of the evolution of technology. We have introduced two clean air zones, in Bath and Bristol, and more are on the way.
In fact, I am going to stop, because the list goes on and on, but a lot of stuff is happening. I say that partly to reassure the noble Lord, Lord Young, who asked for a bit of optimism. I certainly would not pretend that we are completely on top of the issue, in the sense that an enormous amount of work remains to be done, but there is room for optimism. As noble Lords can see from the Government’s actions and what we are proposing in the Bill, we recognise the gravity and urgency of the situation and are taking action.
The noble Earl, Lord Lytton, was surprised that it is still possible to burn wood in people’s homes. I remind him that we recently introduced new legislation to restrict the sale of the most polluting solid fuels, which has been in play from May this year. Only the cleanest stoves will be available for sale as of next year and we have consulted on options to reduce ammonia emissions from solid urea fertilisers.
From looking through my list of questions, I think I have addressed the key concerns that were raised—I certainly hope so. On that basis, I ask noble Lords not to press their amendments.