A Bill to establish the right to breathe clean air; to require the Secretary of State to achieve and maintain clean air in England and Wales; to involve the UK Health Security Agency in setting and reviewing pollutants and their limits; to enhance the powers, duties and functions of various agencies and authorities in relation to air pollution; to establish the Citizens’ Commission for Clean Air with powers to institute or intervene in legal proceedings; to require the Secretary of State and the relevant national authorities to apply environmental principles in carrying out their duties under this Act and the clean air enactments; and for connected purposes
House of Lords
31 October 2023
May contain errors — check source documents for definitive information.
The bill would give people a legal right to clean air and require the government to achieve and maintain clean air in England and Wales, with a new public body (the Citizens’ Commission for Clean Air) overseeing action and the UK Health Security Agency involved in setting pollutant limits. In the Lords, a series of amendments driven by Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb significantly reshaped how the regime works, including replacing the Environment Agency with a new commission, aligning standards to World Health Organization guidelines (for both outdoor and indoor air), extending duties to infrastructure bodies, and providing Parliament with a formal role in updating pollutants and deadlines.
The bill originated in the Lords and gained multiple Committee-stage amendments; it has moved to the Commons for its first reading, with further stages needed before it could become law.
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Showing agreed, defeated, and withdrawn amendments.
The 2022-2023 session of Parliament has prorogued and this Bill will make no further progress.
No recorded votes for this bill yet.
