Local Authorities Struggle to Tackle Air Pollution Due to Government Cuts

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Local authorities are unlikely to be able to tackle air pollution due to government cutbacks, as London continues to struggle to implement air qualityย controls.

Speaking at an event organized by the student-led Kings thinktank last week, IPPR research fellow Laurie Laybourn-Langton claimed โ€œlocal authorities donโ€™t have the moneyโ€ to address air quality issues, as government has โ€œhollowed out the middles of these organisations, leaving them without time and space toย actโ€.

He told DeSmog UK that the government has โ€œsystematically stripped back the resources within the civil service and other areas of government in the last 6ย years.โ€

โ€œThis presumably would encumber their ability to develop and action a workable plan to bring air pollution within legal limits in the shortest timeย possible.โ€

In August, a DeSmog UK investigation revealed that over half of 38 councils in England have cut staff dedicated to working on climate change sinceย 2011.

Laybourn-Langtonโ€™s comments are particularly concerning in the wake of a new reportย  from the European Environment Agency that shows Londonโ€™s Marylebone Road, just 30 minutesโ€™ walk from Thursday nightโ€™s event, had the highest levels of nitrogen dioxide in Europe inย 2013.

It shows air pollution levels were an average 2.5 times the legal limit in theย area.

The report attributes 12,000 deaths in the UK to nitrogen dioxide pollution, which can affect heart and lung conditions and comes mainly from diesel vehicle emissions in urbanย areas.

The High Court recently ruled the government was not doing enough to tackle bad airย quality.

NGO Client Earth brought the case after the government prepared โ€œvague proposalsโ€ that would have taken 9 years to secure compliance and relied on problematic emissionsย data.

The plan proposed only six clean air zones, despite 37 out of 43 zones having illegal levels of airย pollution.

The High Court ruled that the governmentโ€™s timetable for delivering a new plan by September next year was โ€œfar tooย leisurelyโ€.

Main image credit: Mike Knell via Flickrย CC BYSA

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Originally from Manchester, Will moved to London to study a Masters in Environmental science, law & policy. For the last three years he has worked for an international development think tank, the Overseas Development Institute, in various communications positions. Will began contributing to DeSmog UK in Aprilย 2016.

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