What's the government doing to reduce air pollution?

The UK government launched its Fit for the Future 10 Year Health Plan for England in July 2025.

It outlined three big shifts to how the NHS works. In this paper, there is a section on ‘Cleaning up our air’, identifying air pollution as a health issue.

The Health Plan lays out commitments to action on air pollution via the following steps:

• Supporting active travel.
• Working with the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to set out action on air pollution through the Environmental Improvement Plan.
• Launching a consultation on reducing emissions from domestic burning.
• Refreshing the government’s ambition on air quality by reviewing the air quality strategy.
• Improving the standard of rented homes requiring social landlords to act promptly to fix housing hazards such as indoor air quality.

The UK government launched its Clean Air Strategy in 2019.

The Clean Air Strategy sets out their plans for dealing with sources of air pollution. This includes things like developing new guidance on things that create pollution like tyres, brakes and wood stoves. They are also working to make sure that only the cleanest fuels are available for sale.

Local authorities have a number of responsibilities for local air quality. Every authority is required to regularly review and assess air quality in their area. They are also required to produce annual reviews of air quality, and action plans to improve or safeguard air quality within those areas. You can find the latest air quality reviews and plans on local authority webpages.