PARLIAMENTARY DEBATE
Air Pollution - 19 March 2026 (Commons/Commons Chamber)

I take this opportunity to congratulate the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, on the excellent progress made on reducing air pollution in London, which was recently identified as one of 19 leading cities in reducing air pollution. Communities across England will benefit from cleaner air, thanks to our actions to tackle fine particulate pollution, which harms public health and is linked to asthma, lung conditions and heart disease. We will deliver that by modernising industrial permitting, exploring tighter standards for new wood-burning appliances to protect public health, and increasing communication of air-quality information.

I published the Clean Air (Human Rights) Bill, also known as Ella’s law, this month alongside the Ella Roberta Foundation, Mums for Lungs, Clean Air in London, Asthma and Lung UK and Global Action Plan. Together, we affirmed that the right to breathe clean air is a fundamental human right. Does the Minister agree that the Government should include this vital, life-saving legislation in the upcoming King’s Speech, to give clean air the statutory momentum it requires?

I thank the hon. Lady, and pay tribute to Rosamund for the campaigning that she has been doing on this for years. Of course, I support the objectives of improving air quality and cleaning up air pollution, and agree with the hon. Lady on how important that is to public health. That is why we are already taking action to deliver meaningful improvements to air quality, through commitments and actions set out in the environmental improvement plan.

I thank my hon. Friend for raising this. I know how important it is for him and his community to see that we clean up our rivers, lakes and seas, and he has been campaigning on this for a long time. Of course, I would be delighted to meet him.