Air quality and emissions

This Air quality and emissions topic is part of a series of topics in the Lexis+® UK Environmental law and climate change topic. Other topics on the environment and climate change include:

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Contaminated land and flood management
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Environmental information regulation
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Energy efficiency in buildings
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Low carbon transition and renewable projects

In the UK, the Climate Change Act 2008 forming the legislative basis for carbon reduction targets, with a legally binding target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 100%, or net zero, from 1990 levels by 2050 climate change and sustainability is becoming an increasingly important part of the government focus. UK targets and plans fit into wider international developments in this area with key frameworks such as the Paris Agreement, the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures, the EU Green Deal and the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The UN has named 2020–2030 as the Decade of Action, calling for an acceleration to sustainable solutions for the world's biggest challenges—ranging from poverty and gender to climate change, inequality and closing the finance gap. All

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Latest Local Government News

Health and Social Care Committee announces IEP to investigate challenges in transition from children to adult health services

The Health and Social Care Committee has announced that its Independent Expert Panel (IEP) will investigate challenges in the transition from children’s services to adult health and social care services. The IEP, chaired by Professor Dame Jane Dacre, will focus on issues such as: (1) inconsistent forward planning to ensure care continuity; (2) gaps in provision where children’s services end at age 16 while adult services may not commence until age 18 and (3) communication challenges with young people and their families about care pathways. The IEP may also consider how National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines are applied and whether stakeholders feel they should be reviewed, how families are involved in service design and the extent to which services and commissioners are held accountable.

DHSC publishes response to Health and Social Care Committee report on community mental health services

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has published its response to the Health and Social Care Committee’s Fourth Report of Session 2024–26 on community mental health services, setting out the government’s position on all 22 recommendations and how these align with the wider transformation of mental health care under the 10 Year Health Plan. The response confirms that co-production with people with lived experience will remain central to service design and states that this approach is embedded in the six community-based mental health centre pilots. The government does not accept the Committee’s recommendation to commission a new independent and comprehensive evaluation of implementation of the Community Mental Health Framework, referring to earlier evaluation work and ongoing monitoring through national datasets. It partially accepts the recommendation that there should be 24/7 neighbourhood mental health centres in every community, noting that six pilot sites are under way and that decisions on any wider rollout will follow evaluation in 2026 and states that there are no current plans to extend the pilot phase beyond 12 months.

MHCLG publishes implementation guidance for local government reorganisation

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has published implementation guidance for councils invited on 5 February 2025 to submit proposals for unitary local government under section 2 of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 (LGPIHA 2007), clarifying the governance arrangements that will apply during the transition to new unitary authorities.

Ofsted publishes report on educational support for children in local authority care

Ofsted has published a report examining how mainstream schools and colleges support the academic progress and personal development of children in local authority care. The report, based on research conducted during the 2024/25 academic year, highlights effective practice, identifies barriers to progress and considers the implications for education inspection and improvement. It notes inconsistencies in local authority practice, unclear national expectations and a lack of staff training. Key findings include a ‘lottery’ effect, whereby access to resources and virtual school provision depends on the local authority under which a child was placed, and instances where personal education plan (PEP) meetings are not held beyond age 16, reducing oversight and support for older learners. The report recommends: (1) ongoing specialist training for school and college staff; (2) a standardised national approach to PEP formats, funding approvals and virtual school provision; (3) improved collaboration between education providers and local authorities through shared protocols and expectations; (4) enhanced support from local authorities for care-experienced young people beyond age 16 and (5) additional support for colleges, including mentoring, emotional support and academic assistance. The research also informed Ofsted’s renewed education inspection framework, introduced in November 2025.

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