Oral Answers to Questions — Environment, Food and Rural Affairs – in the House of Commons at 9:30 am on 21 November 2013.
Valerie Vaz
Labour, Walsall South
9:30,
21 November 2013
What plans he has to reduce the number of deaths from air pollution.
Dan Rogerson
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Air quality in the United Kingdom has improved significantly over many years, but it still has an effect equivalent to reducing the average life expectancy of everyone living in the UK by six months. The Government are committed to ongoing work to reduce the impact and have invested many billions of pounds in measures that will help to reduce air pollution from transport, energy and industrial sources.
Valerie Vaz
Labour, Walsall South
With 29,000 early deaths from poor air quality, a Supreme Court judgment against the Government and the World Health Organisation saying that poor air quality is a primary cause of cancer, what more can the Government do to avoid a public health crisis?
Dan Rogerson
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
If we take the transport sources of air pollution, for example, we have invested over £1 billion in measures to promote growth in electric vehicles, which will help to transform future air quality, along with cleaner buses and a range of other policies. We are also negotiating at the European level for better standards in diesel vehicles, which contribute significantly to oxides of nitrogen levels.
Jim Fitzpatrick
Labour, Poplar and Limehouse
Most of the polluted roads in the country are in London. What meetings has the Minister had with the Mayor of London to address this serious situation for residents in the capital?
Dan Rogerson
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
In the last month I have had no such meetings, but my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has met the Mayor to discuss this issue.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
