Air Pollution: Health Education
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his department has made of the potential public health benefits of (a) introducing a national public awareness campaign on the health impacts of air pollution and (b) updating the thresholds used in the Daily Air Quality Index.
Answered by Mrs Sharon Hodgson
The Government is committed to making air quality information accessible and actionable. The Environmental Improvement Plan sets out how we are working to improve public understanding of air pollution and how people can reduce their exposure.
In 2025, the Air Quality Information System steering group published their report on how to improve air quality communications. As part of this work, the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs commissioned the study Ricardo report: Evaluation of the Daily Air Quality Index (DAQI) to evaluate whether the DAQI services are achieving the intended objectives and to provide recommendations for improvements. The report is available at the following link:
The current DAQI is based on a consideration of the evidence of health effects following short-term exposure to elevated air pollution and is aligned with most air quality indexes used in other countries
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