Hansard

Everyone has a right to expect that the quality of the air that we breathe will not be detrimental to our health and our quality of life. However, poor air quality can be one of the triggers for asthma attacks among the 3 million asthma sufferers in the UK. Only yesterday, my colleague Susan Deacon met organisations to talk about the impact of asthma. In Scotland alone, it is estimated that 10 to 15 per cent of children and 5 to 10 per cent of adults suffer from asthma. Pollution can exacerbate the condition of those who are already ill and it contributes to the hospitalisation and early death of thousands of people every year.

Air pollution hits hardest the most vulnerable in our society, in particular the old and young. It tends to be worse in our heavily congested inner- city areas, where it exacerbates the poorer quality of life and higher social deprivation. However, even for healthy adults, air pollution has an effect on the overall quality of life. In addition, its effects are more obviously seen by all of us through damage to our urban environment, buildings and countryside.

I am pleased, therefore, to announce the publication today of "The Air Quality Strategy for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland". Copies are available for those who are interested.

The national air quality strategy was first published in March 1997. It fulfilled the requirement, under the Environment Act 1995, for a national strategy setting out policies for the management of ambient air quality. In July 1997, the new UK Government endorsed the strategy and implemented it so that local authorities could begin the process of local air quality management. The strategy gave local authorities a new responsibility to review and assess air quality in their area and to take action when air quality objectives were unlikely to be met. However, the Government felt that more could be done to improve air quality, and an immediate review of the strategy was announced, to look at the prospects of delivering cleaner air more quickly.

Tackling air pollution is one of my top environmental priorities, which is why, as soon as I came into office, I endorsed the revision of the air quality strategy. Throughout the process, officials in Scotland have worked closely in partnership with the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, the National Assembly for Wales and the Northern Ireland Department of the Environment.

Today, with the publication of the comprehensive new air quality strategy, I am delivering the results of that partnership. It will deliver real air quality benefits and a significant reduction in pollutants. The new air quality strategy sets out the strategic framework within which air quality policies will be taken forward in the short to medium term.

The strategy sets out air quality standards, with objectives to be met for eight of the major air pollutants. The original attainment date for all pollutants was the end of 2005. The revised strategy sets tougher objectives for benzene, 1,3butadiene and carbon monoxide, bringing forward the attainment dates for those objectives to 2003, and for nitrogen dioxide reduction to 2004. The most positive outcome is for lead. Current policies enable the date for achieving that objective to be moved forward from 2005 to 2004, with a much tighter objective, halving the present one, to be set for 2008.

The hourly and daily objectives for sulphur dioxide have also been brought forward to 2004, although the 15-minute objective remains unchanged. The ozone objective remains unchanged, pending the final form of the proposed national emission ceilings directive and negotiations on the United Nations environment committee multi-pollutant protocol. There is more work to be done there.

The objective for particles has been replaced for the time being with the less stringent European Community limit values. The shift of the objective to the EC limit values drew the most comment during public consultation on our plans to review and revise the strategy. We have carefully deliberated on the responses received to the proposal to make that change.

The original strategy objective for particles was set on the basis of the best available knowledge at that time. We now know from the extensive work carried out by the airborne particles expert group that the objective is simply not achievable, at least in the short term. That is due in part to the contribution that pollution from mainland Europe makes to particle levels in this country.

We are anxious to ensure that the strategy objectives are seen to be challenging and achievable. If they are to be regarded as serious policy aims, it is particularly important that they are

seen as realistic in terms of being achievable. With that in mind, it was decided that action should be concentrated in the short term on achieving the EC limit values by 2004, as that is the only internationally recognised alternative target. That target was set following recommendations made by the World Health Organisation. However, it is important to emphasise that the EC limit values should be seen as a staging post and not the final outcome; it gives us a chance to gear up on particles.

In view of the importance of the health effects of particles, I am anxious to set my sights beyond the immediate need to comply with the EC limit values. Work is already under way UK-wide to consider further the health effects of particles, the costs and benefits of reducing particles and the effects of recent policy developments on particle levels.

On completion of the review of local air quality management by local authorities and assessments by June this year, we will have access to a comprehensive and complete record of air quality throughout Scotland. That will be hugely beneficial and will allow us to progress further. While we generally enjoy good air quality in Scotland, it is quite possible that the outcome of the review will demonstrate that our urban areas share many of the air quality characteristics of towns and cities throughout the UK—dominated by pollution from transport emissions.

However, given Scotland's unique geography, I have asked my officials to consider the data contained in the reports so that I can decide whether there might be scope to introduce a more stringent objective for particles, to ensure that the people of Scotland continue to enjoy cleaner air. I would hope to be in a position to announce my decision on that by the end of the year.

Air pollution is trans-boundary by nature—it does not respect boundaries or borders. For that reason, many of the problems associated with poor air quality need to be tackled at international and European levels. Many of the objectives set in the strategy will help to ensure that Scotland meets its obligations under the EC air framework directive. However, the strategy recognises that international and national measures may not always be specific enough to tackle localised pollution. That is why local authorities have been given responsibility for local air quality management. They are best placed to identify air pollution hot spots and to take action that will be effective in tackling the problem.

The outcome of the review that Scottish authorities are undertaking will, for the first time, allow us to ascertain whether there are any air quality characteristics that are particular to Scotland. Should any specific Scottish issues be identified, I will consider whether they need to be addressed through separate Scottish policy measures, or by the possible establishment of an air quality strategy for Scotland.

The process that led to the publication of the new strategy today is an example of open government. Monitoring progress towards the objectives set in the strategy will be equally open. The regulations bringing into force the new objectives set out in the strategy will be laid before Parliament within the next few days and will be subject to an affirmative resolution.

An important challenge will to be to raise public awareness of air quality issues, so that they are taken into account at all levels of decision making. I intend the new strategy to provide a sound framework against which decisions can be taken. We all have a part to play in ensuring that things work together—from town planners deciding on the site for a new superstore and transport planners making decisions on traffic management, to each of us as individuals making our daily transport choices.

The publication of the air quality strategy today brings cleaner air a step nearer to everyone across Scotland. The strategy is an important part of our drive to protect public health and our environment and to secure lasting improvements to air quality.