HC Deb 21 January 2002 vol 378 c607W
Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress has been made in Buckinghamshire towards meeting the National Air Quality Strategy targets. [27788]

Mr. Meacher

National and local air quality modelling suggests that the objectives prescribed in the Air Quality Strategy will all be met across all of Buckinghamshire with the following two main exceptions:

  1. 1. There is a risk that the nitrogen dioxide annual objective may not be met alongside parts of the M40 motorway. Wycombe district council has declared an air quality management area between junctions 3 and 5 of the M40, and is carrying out further modelling and monitoring in this area which is due to be completed by 31 July 2002.
  2. 2. There is a risk that the national ozone objective may not be met across parts of Buckinghamshire. The Air Quality Strategy sets out the actions that are being taken at national and international level to tackle this issue, since, because of its transboundary nature with major contributions from outside the UK, ozone is a pollutant over which local authorities have little control.

Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many air pollution(a) passive diffusion tubes and (b) automatic monitoring sites were based in Buckinghamshire in each year since 1977. [27789]

Mr. Meacher

There are passive nitrogen dioxide diffusion tubes sites in the UK network in Aylesbury and Milton Keynes. Both towns have four sites each, which have been running since 1993. DEFRA has not funded any automatic monitoring sites based in Buckinghamshire at any time since 1977.

In addition to these, each of the three local authorities in Buckinghamshire operates its own network of air quality monitors. Details of these are not held centrally.

Eaga Partnership TXU Warm Front Total
HEES budget 2001–021
(£ million) 139 54 193
Percentage of budget already spent 65 67 —
Percentage likely to be spent by year end 100 100 —
1 The budget for 2001–02 includes the moneys not used in the previous financial year

The scheme managers have sufficient resources to meet demand in this financial year. The major difficulty that they continue to face is the national shortage of gas heating engineers. Both scheme managers continue to recruit installers and thereby improve the quality of service provided to householders.