Key information
Request reference number: MGLA240823-5004
Date of response:
Summary of request
Your request
I am writing to ask if you have any figures for projected savings to health costs for London, due to lower pollution - particularly in relation to the lowering pollution through the implementation of ULEZ
Our response
The CBI has published a number of papers looking at the economic benefits of improving air quality, including this one that looks at impacts UK-wide and in London specifically: Breathing life into the UK economy - CBI Economics Report Series - Clean Air Fund.
Key stat from this report is “Research from the Confederation of British Industry has shown that cleaner air could boost the UK economy by £1.6 billion per year due to a healthier, more productive workforce. Improving air quality in London would provide an economic benefit of almost £500 million per year to the local economy.
City Hall have also done studies in the past looking at the quantified health savings of the Mayor’s policies, including: Modelling the long-term health impacts of air pollution in London | London City Hall. The study looked at the long-term health impacts of exposure to pollution in London from 2016 to 2050. It found that the policies in the London Environment Strategy (including the central ULEZ and its expansion to inner London) are expected to result in a cost saving to London’s NHS and social care system of around £5bn. Furthermore, if no additional action on top of the LES was taken, the cumulative the cumulative cost to the NHS and social care system attributable to air pollution was estimated to be £10.4bn by 2050.