What needs to be done
In 2019 Public Health England produced an excellent and comprehensive evidence-based Review of interventions to improve outdoor air quality and public health. This supports the HM Government A Green Future: Our 25 Year Plan to Improve the Environment, whose number 1 goal is ‘clean air’.
Recognising that each year 36,000 deaths in the UK are due to air pollution, and that most of the pollution is due to vehicles, these documents place children’s health and general health equality as top priorities.
Unlike Ipswich, several UK cities and towns are embracing the actions necessary to protect its citizens.
Acknowledging that vehicles are mostly responsible for air pollution HM Government devolved a range of powers to the local authorities and charged them to deliver legal air. The Review of interventions sets out the various devolved powers and concludes that a coherent and holistic range of interventions are required. For instance, to reduce pollution requires less vehicles on the road . For this to be successful appropriately routed, regular and inexpensive public transport is required together with safe cycle and pedestrian pathways.
HM Government also expect local authorities to work together. For instance Ipswich Suffolk County Council are responsible for Highways and Transport which will be required to put in place clean air zones or forbidding the dirtiest vehicles whilst Ipswich Borough Council are responsible for planning and development management and are responsible for an effective Air Quality Action Plan.
HM Government also makes it clear that ‘Improving air quality can go hand in hand with economic growth’ debunking arguments that we can’t afford actions to protect our health.
HM Government expects that ‘everyone has a role to play’. This includes all of us who live, work, visit or travel through Ipswich, businesses and local authorities.
Devolved powers include;
· forbidding the dirtiest vehicles or favouring clean vehicle fuels like petrol, LPG or CNG over diesel and bio-diesel
· public and school transport policies
· low or zero emission last mile services
· traffic and parking management
· street design and road layouts
National Institute for health and care excellence (NICE) NICE guideline [NG70] 2017 recommends taking a number of actions in combination, because multiple interventions, each producing a small benefit, are likely to act cumulatively to produce significant change. It includes recommendations on:
· planning
· reducing emissions from public sector transport services and vehicle fleets
· smooth driving and speed reduction
Introduction Health impacts What needs to be done Council obligations Legal framework Director of Public Health