Nonprofit air pollution charity Mums for Lungs has released new figures obtained via a Freedom of Information (FoI) request from DEFRA that shows air pollution budgets cut by 99% since 2016.
The data shows that the average grant provided to councils under eight years of a Conservative government from 2016/17 to 2023/24 was £71.8m.
This fell from £1.5m under the Labour government in 2024/25 which represents a 99.4% reduction in funding from a high of £225m in 2020/21.
Mums for Lungs stated that the cost of government inaction on air pollution is outstripping its annual investment in cost to our economy and NHS by billions of pounds every year.
Additionally, the Royal College of Physicians recently estimated that air pollution is costing the UK economy upwards of £27bn per year in core healthcare costs and productivity losses.
This is estimated to kill up to 36,000 people every year as scientists have found links between air pollution and almost every organ system in the body and the major diseases that affect them.
This includes the brain, lungs (stunted lung growth), cardiovascular system, metabolism, kidneys, liver, gastrointestinal tract, bones and skin but even diabetes and worsening mental health conditions have been linked to air pollution.
Mums for Lungs is one of the third parties to the ‘Dieselgate’ trial, which is currently in the High Court to examine claims that car manufacturers were cheating emissions tests.
The group is calling for the manufacturers to fund recalls of vehicles failing emissions testing.
The revised Ambient Air Quality Directive updates air quality standards for both PM2.5 and NO2, and means the UK is now lagging significantly behind its neighbours, Mums for Lungs suggested.
Founder and director of Mums for Lungs, Jemima Hartshorn, said: “Cutting air pollution budgets by 99% at a time when children are still breathing illegal and toxic levels of dirty air is indefensible.
“Parents across the country expected Labour to deliver on its promise of a Clean Air Act and a legal right to breathe safe air, but instead, commitments have been dropped and funding slashed.
“Failing to address air pollution and invest in solutions to clean up our air is a short-term financial fallacy and a moral failure. It is setting up another generation of children for a lifetime of ill health.”
“The human cost of air pollution is immeasurable, the financial cost to our NHS and economy is billions and our government is investing barely anything.
“We urge the government to urgently restore funding, clean up our air, and protect little lungs from the devastating effects of toxic air.”
Achievements and innovations in clean air initiatives will be recognised and celebrated at the fourth annual CiTTi Awards on 25 November 2025 at De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms in London. Visit www.cittiawards.co.uk to learn more about this unmissable event for the UK’s transportation sector!
