A review of the effectiveness of local authority Air Quality Action Plans and future policy options for Local Air Quality Management (LAQM) has been carried out for Defra by Air Quality Consultants, in conjunction with Aether.
A number of local authorities were surveyed by questionnaire and follow-up telephone interviews to inform a detailed review of the successes and failures of the current system. The report identified barriers to Action Plans in delivering the required improvements to air quality conditions, concluding that there is often a lack of political will and funding. There is little evidence that robust quantification of measures in the Action Plan has been carried out, and accordingly, it is difficult to assess how successful the measures have been. However, there is evidence that the Action Planning process has played an important role in providing the evidence base to support local measures that have delivered improvements, and local authority officers are better informed to provide advice on development control decisions, which should in the long run contribute to improved air quality.
The need for improved guidance for local authorities on preparing Action Plans was also identified. This would benefit from the lessons learned from successful Action Plans so as to avoid the need for authorities to ‘re-invent the wheel’ when developing or revising their Action Plans.
The report concluded by setting out options for the future of the LAQM process, with opportunities to ease the reporting burden for local authorities. Defra and the Scottish Government are undertaking a consultation on different options for the future of LAQM, taking into account the recommendations in the Air Quality Consultants report.
This report may be downloaded here.
Details of the consultation for England may be found here.
Details of the consultation for Scotland may be found here.
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