Key information
Request reference number: MGLA030223-9141
Date of response:
Summary of request
Your request
You have been quoted as saying that Havering is the most polluted outer London
borough. Please provide details of all pollution readings taken for Havering - where, when (time and date) and road conditions, for example, was this at Gallows Comer in the rush hour or an accident delaying traffic?
Our response
London has one of the most comprehensive air quality monitoring networks of any global city and air quality is constantly monitored at over 150 locations. These sites are operated and funded by the London boroughs, Transport for London (TfL) and Heathrow Airport.
All data from the reference air quality monitors in London are publicly available on either the London Air or Air Quality England websites, depending on which data manager the borough subscribes to. These websites include the monitor locations and dates they have been running, as well as all the pollution concentration data, which can be freely downloaded.
The GLA regularly reports on air quality trends in London. This reporting uses data from the city’s air quality monitoring network to analyse the long-term trends in pollution concentrations (the levels of pollution in the air).
The most recent modelling is the London Atmospheric Emissions Inventory (LAEI) 2019.
This is a public dataset and includes modelled ground level concentrations of annual mean NOx, NO2, PM10 and PM2.5 in µg/m3 (microgramme per cubic metre) at 20m grid resolution.
You also made a number of additional comments about the ULEZ in your letter. Below I have provided some additional information about the Mayor’s decision to expand the ULEZ and where you can find out more about the support available for Londoners.
The Mayor is expanding the ULEZ across all London boroughs on 29 August 2023 to tackle the triple challenges of air pollution, the climate emergency and congestion, and ensure five million more Londoners can breathe cleaner air.
The Mayor made this decision after taking into account a detailed consultation report and
integrated impact assessment. The majority of respondents to the consultation said there was a need to go further to tackle poor air quality. The Mayor has been clear that this was not an easy decision but a necessary one, due to the impact of air pollution on people’s health.
The existing ULEZ has had a transformational impact, helping to reduce harmful roadside
nitrogen dioxide by almost half in central London and a fifth in inner London. However, despite this world-leading progress, many areas of London still exceed legal and safe levels of air pollution.
The Mayor is doing all he can to support Londoners through the cost-of-living crisis, which is why the expansion will be accompanied by a brand new £110m scrappage scheme for
Londoners on lower incomes, disabled Londoners, charities, micro-businesses and sole traders.
The Mayor has also announced new measures to support disabled people, including extending the existing exemption periods for London’s disabled drivers and community transport minibuses run by not-for-profit organisations to October 2027 and October 2025 respectively, and introducing new exemption periods for people on a wider range of disability benefits and wheelchair accessible vehicles.
Improving public transport in outer London is absolutely central to the Mayor’s Transport
Strategy and to enabling people to travel more sustainably. That’s why the Mayor has
announced that TfL is going to consult on expanding the bus network in outer London.
Already, more than 96 per cent of Londoners live within 400m of the bus network, the London Overground network has expanded including a new station at Barking Riverside and the Elizabeth Line is transforming public transport connectivity directly and through new interchanges along its length. Any net proceeds raised by the ULEZ are reinvested into running and improving London’s transport network, such as expanding bus routes in outer London.
If you have any further questions relating to this matter, please contact us, quoting
reference MGLA030223-9141.