Government agrees to go ahead with publication of air pollution strategy

A draft plan to tackle air pollution is set to be published next week as the government agrees not to challenge a high court ruling.

According to The Guardian, the government has said it will not challenge a court ruling forcing the government to release its draft plans on air pollution before the election.

Theresa May’s official spokesman said the government would not appeal against the high court judgment, which rejected attempts by ministers to keep the policy under wraps until after the poll.

This means the government will have to publish its draft air-quality plan before 9 May, despite wanting to wait until after the purdah period for the local elections was over.

The strategy will set out how ministers plan to tackle the UK’s high level of air pollution, which is believed to be responsible for 40,000 premature deaths a year.