§ Mr. CorbynTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what studies are being made by her Department about the link between road traffic and child asthma; and if she will make a statement.
§ Mr. SackvilleThe Department is currently studying the effects on health from air pollutants from all sources. The Advisory Group on the Medical Aspects of Air Pollution Episodes, set up in 1990, and the Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants, which was established in 1992, are examining the evidence with a view to estimating the likely effects of air pollution in the
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§ Dr. MawhinneyInformation available centrally relates to the proportion of the population covered by fundholding practices in each regional health authority area. The figures for the first, second and third wave fundholders are shown in the tables.
United Kingdom and to recommend research needed. The advisory group produced reports on ozone in 1991 and on sulphur dioxides, acid aerosols and particulates in 1992, and on the effects of oxides of nitrogen—one of the main pollutants from motor vehicles—at the end of 1993. Asthma is an important health issue and the Department is concerned about the rise in its incidence among all age groups. Further research is needed to help identify the underlying causes of this rise in incidence. Air pollution is one possibility, but investigation is also under way into other factors, such as the indoor environment, smoking habits and diet. The newly formed Medical Research Council institute for environment and health, funded by the Department and by the Department of the Environment, has made research into the health effects of air pollution its first priority. I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 20 October 1993 at column 236.