Funds pledged in air pollution fight

摘要

The Government will increase funding to councils and impose new legal targets on air pollution in a bid to prevent further deaths. In response to a coroner's prevention of future deaths report, ministers have agreed to increase the Air Quality Grant scheme for local authorities by £6m a year and launch a public awareness campaign about air pollution. The report was published after the coroner ruled exposure to excessive air pollution contributed to the death of schoolgirl Ella Kissi-Debrah in 2013. A consultation on new legal limits on air pollution will be launched next year. The Government is developing a more sophisticated population exposure reduction target, with a new monitoring network to capture more detailed air quality information. Environment secretary George Eustice said the response 'is part of a much wider cross-government effort to drive forward tangible and long-lasting changes to improve the air we breathe, as well as doing more to inform the public about the risks'.