§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what assessment he has made of the air quality in London in relation to that of other EU capitals; and if he will make a statement. [3664]
§ Ms Angela EagleThe Department in co-operation with local authorities, currently monitors air quality at 24 automatic, and over 100 non-automatic stations in Greater London. A variety of pollutants are monitored at these sites including nitrogen dioxide, ozone, sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide, fine particles (PM10), hydrocarbons and lead. Levels of these pollutants, in London and other UK cities, together with exceedences of air quality standards and guidelines, are presented in the Department's 18th Edition of the Digest of Environmental Protection and Water Statistics. A copy of the Digest is available in the House of Commons Library. The 19th edition of the Digest, containing information on air quality during 1995 will be published in July.
Information on levels of pollution in major cities elsewhere in the European Union is not held centrally. A European Topic Centre on air quality has been established by the European Environment Agency to improve the availability and comparability of information on air quality at the European level, including urban air quality, and to report on key issues on a regular basis. The Agency is expected to publish a report entitled "Air Pollution in Europe in 1997" during the summer.