Councils’ air pollution grant ‘drastically reduced’

ICL expert says cuts will have “major” impact as air pollution is linked to 28,000-34,000 deaths annually and costs £27bn per year in healthcare and productivity

The government has drastically reduced the funding for local councils to tackle air pollution.

Data supplied in response to a Freedom of Information request by the charity, Mums for Lungs shows the average grant provided to councils from 2016/17 to 2023/24 was £71.8 million per year. This has fallen to just £1.5 million in 2024/25, representing a 99.4% reduction from a high of £225 million in 2020/21.

Jemima Hartshorn, Founder and Director, Mums for Lungs, described the reduction as “indefensible”. She said: “Parents across the country expected Labour to deliver on its promise of a Clean Air Act and a legal right to breathe safe air, but instead, commitments have been dropped and funding slashed.” 

Among other measures, Mums for Lungs is calling for an ‘enforceable pathway’ to meet WHO air pollution targets at the same speed as the EU; a clear timeline to phase out diesel vehicles and restrictions on domestic wood burners and ‘high-polluting’ sports utility vehicles.

A Defra spokesperson insisted that the government was ‘taking action’: “We have provided local authorities with £575 million since 2018 to improve air quality, and we continue to work with them to cut harmful emissions and reduce everyone’s exposure to air pollution.

“We will publish a revised Environmental Improvement Plan with delivery information to help meet the ambitious Environment Act targets. It will be a clearer, prioritised plan for achieving environmental outcomes, including improving air quality.” 

“The capacity and capability of local authorities to discharge their air quality duties and enforce legislation has been severely diminished.”

James Longhurst, Emeritus Professor of Environmental Science at the University of the West of England, said: “Ministerial words do not improve air quality. Local authorities are key actors in managing air pollution, they do the best they can in their reduced funding circumstances but they deserve and require the resources that will enable them to respond to the demands of the public for improved air quality.

“The capacity and capability of local authorities to discharge their air quality duties and enforce legislation has been severely diminished.

“Whether it is responding to complaints of pollution, undertaking Local Air Quality Management duties, providing effective air pollution monitoring and modelling, or through the use of the planning system to reduce future air pollution issues, a local authority's resources can no longer provide the high level of service that is required to address and remediate air-pollution problems.”

Professor Frank Kelly, Head of the Environmental Research Group at Imperial College London (ICL) warned that air pollution is the UK’s largest environmental risk to health.

He said: “It is linked to 28,000-34,000 deaths annually and costs the economy £27 billion per year in healthcare and productivity losses. Therefore, this reduction in funding will have major implications.

“The UK is already lagging behind the US and Europe with plans to improve air quality. Reduced funding will therefore undermine any further progress toward PM2.5 and NO₂ targets set under the Environment Act 2021.

“More importantly, these cuts will further delay compliance with WHO air-quality guidelines, meaning prolonged exposure for millions, especially children, who already suffer from stunted lung growth and respiratory illness.”