Labour demands stricter air pollution limits after child poverty link revealed

Research shows UK’s 50 most polluted areas also have highest rates of child poverty

Traffic on the A205 South Circular road in Lewisham, south London.

 Photograph: Dominic Lipinski/PA

Fiona Harvey

Environment correspondent
Tue 28 Dec 2021 

The Labour party has demanded stricter limits on air pollution after analysis showed the close correlation between children living in poverty and dirty air in the UK.

Five London boroughs rank worst for child poverty and worst for dirty air, according to government data collated by Labour, mapping areas of high poverty against statistics on air pollution. The analysis showed that the higher the rate of child poverty in a given area, the dirtier the air there was on average, with most of the 50 most polluted areas in the UK also showing the highest rates of child poverty.

Boroughs in Birmingham, Southampton, Portsmouth, Sandwell and Walsall also showed high correlations between child poverty and air pollution.

In the 11 local authorities that exceed the WHO’s recommended guideline limit of an annual mean concentration of 10 micrograms per cubic metre of air (µg/m3), an average of 39.5% of children are living in poverty – much higher than the national average of 31%.

Altogether, about 6.7 million children are living in areas of the UK where air pollution has breached legal limits, of whom about 2 million are also living in poverty, according to the research.

The announcement by the Labour party follows a meeting in December with Keir Starmer, Ed Miliband, and campaign group Choked Up, a group of young black and brown teenagers living in areas affected by air pollution, who are calling for a right to clean air.

Jim McMahon, the shadow secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs, said: “Everyone should have the right to breathe clean, safe air, no matter where you live. If the pandemic has shown us anything, it’s that public health has to be at the very top of the political agenda, and that has to start with the air we breathe.”

He pointed to Labour proposals for a Clean Air Act, which would establish a legal right to breathe clean air, and legal requirements for air quality based on the advice of the World Health Organization. The government rejected amendments to the environment bill that would have set pollution limits in line with WHO advice.

He added: “The Conservative government refused to protect the health of British children, voting against tougher limits on pollution. Our children should be able to take clean, safe air for granted. Only a Clean Air Act is going to guarantee that.”

Under the new environment legislation, the government will set new pollution targets from late next year. The government was repeatedly found to be in breach of EU air pollution rules, when they applied to the UK, before Brexit.

A government spokesperson said: “Air pollution has reduced significantly since 2010 – at a national level, emissions of fine particulate matter have fallen by 11%, while emissions of nitrogen oxides are at their lowest levels since records began. But we know there is still more to do. To continue to drive forward tangible and long-lasting improvements to air quality, we are committed to setting stretching and ambitious targets on air quality through our Environment Act.”

Some of the most polluted cities, including London, Birmingham and Portsmouth, have introduced clean air zones in an effort to reduce air pollution, which mainly comes from diesel and petrol vehicles, agriculture and wood-burning stoves.