Local authorities across England have been granted more than £11 million in government funding to deliver projects to improve air quality.
The money, from the government’s Air Quality Grant, helps councils develop and implement measures to benefit schools, businesses and communities and reduce the impact of dirty air on people’s health.
More than double the funding awarded in 2021 has been made available for this year’s grant.
This includes over £1 million of funding for projects that will deliver measures to improve public awareness in local communities about the risks of air pollution, following a recommendation in the Coroner’s Prevention of Future Deaths report after the death of Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah in 2013.
The government is taking baction to cut air pollution through the Environment Act, which requires two new targets to be set to reduce the level of fine particulate matter in the air.
A public consultation on these targets will be held shortly.
Today’s announcement means more than £42 million has been awarded through the Air Quality Grant since 2010 across almost 500 projects.
Agri-innovation and Climate Adaptation Minister Jo Churchill said:
“Air pollution is the single biggest environmental risk to public health.
“It has reduced significantly since 2010, but we know there is more to do, which is why we have doubled the amount of funding awarded this year to help local authorities take vital action.
“The projects supported by this latest round of funding include innovative local schemes to boost the use of green transport, increase monitoring of fine particulate matter – the most harmful pollutant to human health – and improve awareness of the risks of poor air quality around schools and in care homes.
“Local authorities are best placed to find solutions to the issues they face in their areas, and we will continue to work closely with them and offer support to help deliver real change in cleaning up our air.”
