James MacColl, Campaigns Director at Campaign for Better Transport said:

"The Government's plan to tackle air pollution goes nowhere near far enough. Dirty air from road transport causes tens of thousands of premature deaths each year. The Supreme Court demanded that the Government clean up, but instead they've just passed the buck to cash-strapped local authorities while continuing to plough billions into massive new road schemes. Given the paucity of ambition on show here, it's difficult to see how the Government can avoid being taken back to court." 

ENDS

For further information please contact Alice Ridley on 020 7566 6495 / 07984 773 468 or alice.ridley@bettertransport.org.uk [2]

Notes

• Improving air quality in the UK - Tackling nitrogen dioxide in our towns and cities. UK overview document [3] is the result of successful legal action against the Government by environmental lawyers, ClientEarth [4]. On 29 April 2015, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the Government was in breach of rules concerning the speed at which airp pollution should be reduced. Today's publication is the outcome of the court's decision, which required the Government to produce a plan to reduce air pollution to legal limits as soon as possible. Read ClientEarth's response to the publication of Improving air quality in the UK [5].
• Air pollution is responsible for large numbers of premature deaths each year. The consultation on the Govenment's Air Quality Plan [6]stated that in the UK, 29,000 people die prematurely from particulate matter pollution each year, and 23,500 from nitrogen dioxide.