This In Focus note provides an examination of air pollution in the UK, and its reported impact on public health.
Air Quality and Health in the UK (80KB PDF)
A new study from King’s College London indicated that air pollution in London is now at levels which are more detrimental to health than previously thought, amounting to a ‘mortality burden’ of the equivalent of nearly 9,500 people per year. The World Health Organisation notes that there is an established link between air pollution and increased risk of disease and premature mortality, and the Government’s own data reveal that air pollution in some areas of the UK—such as London, the West Midlands, and West Yorkshire—is in breach of legal limits. According to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the biggest human-made sources of fine particulates and nitrogen dioxide—pollutants which have been identified as having significant negative impacts on human health in the UK—are stationary fuel combustion and transport.
Air Quality and Health in the UK (80KB PDF)
The Nature’s Rights Bill [HL] is a private member’s bill sponsored by Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party). The bill would recognise nature as a legal subject, granting it specific rights for protection and restoration. The bill would set out a legal framework for how this would operate, including an integrated rights framework and mechanisms for how nature’s rights would be implemented and enforced.
![Nature’s Rights Bill [HL]: HL Bill 7 of 2026–27](https://lordslibrary-parliament.studio24.dev/content/uploads/sites/2/2020/09/Environment-568x426.png)
There have been big differences in expenditure across different forms of healthcare for a number of years. In 2024/25, spending on acute care was £74.7bn, compared to £14.5bn on primary care and £13.8bn on community services. Both the 2024 Labour Party manifesto and the subsequent 10 year health plan for England contained an emphasis on shifting towards more care being delivered in local communities rather than in acute settings, dubbed a ‘neighbourhood health service’.
Myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as ME or chronic fatigue syndrome, is a long-term health condition that is estimated to affect over 400,000 people in the UK. It is a fluctuating condition with symptoms including fatigue, sleep problems and brain fog. In 2025 the government published its final delivery plan on ME, which aimed to improve care and support for those with the condition.
