My Lords, I start by thanking all noble Lords who have spoken with such passion, interest and informed intelligence on this subject.
I start with Amendment 150A, tabled by the noble Baroness, Lady Sheehan. I am sure the noble Baroness knows that local authorities already have the power to set 20 mph speed limits where local needs and conditions suggest that it is required—for example, in a built-up area or near a school. The Government agree with her that 20 mph speed limits can be a useful tool to improve road safety and reduce air pollution, as acknowledged in the Department for Transport’s guidance for local authorities on local speed limits, but they may not be the solution everywhere. Imposed in the wrong places, lower speed limits may increase congestion and journey times, which may in turn increase PM2.5 emissions.
The noble Baroness is right to focus on non-exhaust emissions; we accept the need to reduce them and have legally binding emission reduction targets, including for particulate matter. Non-exhaust particulate matter
emissions have become more significant, as emissions from exhausts and other sources, such as coal power stations, have decreased—and this is a phenomenon identified by a number of noble Lords.
The Government are also working with their international partners to develop procedures to test and evaluate emissions from tyre and brake wear, with the potential to produce future regulatory standards. To reassure the noble Baroness, Lady Hayman of Ullock, and my noble friend Lord Lucas, in February, the Department for Transport commenced a significant research project to understand better the measurement techniques, materials, properties and control parameters of brake and tyre wear emissions from road vehicles.
On the general subject of more research needing to be done, I shall write to the noble Baroness, because I think that there is more that we can say to both noble Lords about what the department is doing in this area.
It is therefore appropriate to allow local authorities, working with air quality partners such as Highways England, to determine whether lower speed restrictions are appropriate locally. Schedule 11 to this Bill strengthens the local air quality management framework by increasing joint working between local authorities and relevant public authorities for precisely this purpose. The Government will shortly consult on designation of the first of these relevant public authorities, Highways England.
In addition, last year, the Government announced their plans to implement the moving traffic enforcement powers in Part 6 of the Traffic Management Act 2004. This will enable local authorities in England with civil parking enforcement powers to take responsibility for enforcement of moving traffic offences. This can include enforcement of no entry, banned turns, access restrictions, box junctions and cycle lanes, but also includes idling. Although we encourage local authorities to make use of the powers available to them, which include issuing fixed penalty notices, this issue will not simply be resolved through fining. Local authorities, as existing guidance makes clear, should utilise a range of methods to encourage motorists to change their behaviour, including public information campaigns. The Government continue to invest in infrastructure for active travel, including a £2 billion fund for cycling and walking. An additional £200 million was allocated in the previous financial year as part of the Covid-19 active travel fund.
I think the noble Baroness, Lady Jones of Moulsecoomb, was a little churlish about Boris Johnson’s initiatives while he was mayor. He did introduce the Routemaster bus and Boris bikes, and he also introduced potted plants, which may have had a little bit of an effect. I just defend him on that front.
We hope that this investment will enable and encourage people to switch from polluting methods of transport such as private cars to cleaner, greener and healthier transport modes such as cycling and walking, which we hope that all noble Lords will welcome. The solution to less air pollution from traffic is less traffic, not just slower-moving traffic.
On Amendments 151A and 151B, tabled by the noble Baroness, Lady Randerson, and Amendment 155, tabled by the noble Baroness, Lady Jones of Moulsecoomb, we need to be careful not to be too prescriptive. Local
authorities are required to review and assess local air quality and decide what action to take based on local needs. The Government already have a national network of 533 air quality monitoring sites across the UK, which measure air pollutants, operated by the Environment Agency. I hope that that gives some reassurance to the noble Lord, Lord Whitty. It is not possible to monitor in every location, as this would be prohibitively expensive, so modelling enables assessment of air quality in locations without monitoring stations, allowing more effective investment on implementing policies that will deliver air quality improvements. Local authorities are already required to make their air quality action plans freely available, and they are advised in statutory guidance to do so on their website, as requested by the amendment from the noble Baroness. Specifically on Amendment 155 from the noble Baroness, Lady Jones of Moulsecoomb, my noble friend the Minister has previously set out the Government’s action on provision of air quality information, including our daily air quality index.
I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Jones of Moulsecoomb, for also tabling Amendment 154. The Government agree that action is needed on air quality, and I reassure noble Lords that the Bill includes several measures to achieve this. In this Bill, the Government are committing to set a new national concentration target for PM2.5 under Clause 2, as this is the pollutant that has the most significant impact on health. We will also set a second ambitious target to reduce the exposure of the population to PM2.5 on an ongoing basis through our long-term air quality target, which must be set under Clause 1.
As my noble friend the Minister has already set out in this Committee, we are taking account of the World Health Organization’s guidance on this matter when setting air quality targets, and will continue to do so, but we simply do not yet know the policies that will be required to meet the WHO’s guidance level for PM2.5, especially in London. Therefore, we do not believe it is appropriate to set such a target, which would affect millions of people’s daily lives, without first levelling with them about the choices and changes that will be required as a result.
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Turning to Amendment 153 from the noble Baroness, Lady Jones of Moulsecoomb, and Amendments 156A to 156M—which I recall the noble Lord, Lord Tope, tabled as a Private Member’s Bill last year—I want to reassure the House that there is already a local air quality management framework in place which we are strengthening through this Bill. Under the current framework, local authorities already have a duty to monitor and assess air quality and to reduce pollution where statutory limits and local air quality objectives are breached. The Environment Bill strengthens this framework by fundamentally broadening the range of bodies required to co-operate with local authorities to improve local air quality and strengthens requirements for local air quality action plans—for example, it requires clear dates by when measures will be taken and provides an action plan if further measures need to be taken to secure air quality objectives.
The noble Lord, Lord Tope, specifically mentioned nitrogen oxide and particulate matter for generators. We introduced specified generator controls which require new generators to meet nitrogen oxide emission limits from January 2019. Additionally, since 2019, operators of existing diesel generators which may pose a risk to local air quality have been required to hold an environment permit and comply with permit conditions to protect local air quality. Other existing generators will be subject to emission limits from 2025 or 2030, depending on their size.
The noble Baroness, Lady Walmsley, asked specifically about vulnerable populations, particularly children and those with health conditions. While targeted action can be taken, for instance around schools, children will also be exposed at home, when travelling and during other activities. Action focused on vulnerable groups needs to be part of a much wider programme of action. In the Bill, the Government have committed to reviewing and updating the air quality strategy within 12 months of the measures coming into force and every five years thereafter. We will use this review to consider whether local air quality standards and objectives for a range of pollutants need to be revised.
I highlight that local authorities already have several levers to improve air quality in their areas. They can declare air quality management areas and smoke control areas—which are strengthened by this Bill—to tackle emissions from domestic burning and can implement clean air zones, supported by funds from central government. In summary, more legislation may not necessarily be the answer, but rather targeted new measures and greater collaboration with local authorities to ensure they use their full powers to crack down on air pollution. The Environment Bill has been designed with this in mind.
We also know that funding for our local authorities is key, which is why our air quality grant scheme has awarded nearly £70 million to local authorities over its lifetime. Recent examples include projects to deliver electric cargo bikes in Colchester, reducing air pollution from deliveries in York, electric taxis in Slough and retrofitting double-decker buses in Brighton. We have also funded the retrofit of thousands of buses across the country through the clean bus technology fund, including in Gateshead, Essex, Oxford, Coventry, the West Midlands, Manchester and Liverpool.
On non-road mobile machinery, including construction equipment, generators and so on, there are already emissions standards that such machinery must comply with before it is sold. I am sure your Lordships are also aware that the Bill contains measures to allow the Government to compel manufacturers to recall non-road mobile machinery that does not meet the relevant environmental standards.
I hope the detail I have set out about the Government’s existing air quality regulatory framework and the improvements we are making through the Environment Bill, in addition to the significant funding provided by the Government directly to local authorities, enabling locally led solutions to air quality problems, provides some reassurance. I am obviously happy to learn of the success of Wales in introducing traffic-calming measures, particularly in Cardiff, my home town, and I was also interested to hear the noble Baroness,
Lady Sheehan, correctly identifying concerns about the capacity of green electricity as we increase our use of electric cars. The Government have been addressing this through myriad proposals in the 10-point plan and the energy White Paper. On that basis, I ask her to withdraw her amendment.