At the recent IAPSC conference in Birmingham (4th December) a Defra spokesperson made clear that local authorities should definitely continue to produce their annual review and assessment Progress Reports, and that any necessary air quality monitoring to inform these reports should continue. T
his announcement was in response to a question from Prof. Duncan Laxen, Managing Director of Air Quality Consultants Ltd. Prof. Laxen first commented that the preferred option in the recent Defra consultation might imply that local authorities could start to wind down their local air quality management (LAQM) duties, and then asked if this was the message Defra wanted to convey.
Sean O’Byrne of Defra responded by saying that the recent consultation on the future of LAQM had led to an unprecedented response from a wide range of organisations. He announced that Defra would not be dismantling the LAQM regime, which he said had been a “success story”. Defra would be expecting to see Progress Reports submitted next year, as usual, and it would be chasing authorities that did not submit. He also said that Defra expected local authorities to maintain monitoring to inform its LAQM activities.
Air Quality Consultants Ltd played a major role in establishing the LAQM regime in the UK. It has also helped many local authorities prepare their Review and Assessment reports and Action Plans.
More details about the discussions at the IAPSC conference will be provided in the January edition of the Air Quality Bulletin.
Defra has now issued a summary of the consultation response (click here).
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