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Westminster Working Party to focus on air pollution and dementia

The Westminster Commission for Road Air Quality (WCRAQ) will focus on the threat to cognitive health in later life for its latest meeting , which takes place this week.

Set to be held at Imperial College, London, one of the leading academic institutions researching air pollution and its impact on public health, the event will feature Professor Frank Kelly. Among other things, he currenty holds the inaugural Humphrey Battcock Chair in Community Public Health and Policy at the university’s School of Public Health. 

white concrete building near body of water during night time

This latest Working Party meeting will take place on Thursday 23rd February at 1PM. Anyone eligible who would like to attend the event should email sally.cumner@supatrak.com with an expression of interest and request for more information.

News of the event comes just weeks after the WCRAQ celebrated three years of air quality achievements. It’s Annual Parliamentary Reception, which took place last month, saw record attendance, with more than 100 guests welcomed to the Terrace Pavilion at the Houses of Parliament. A clear sign of the traction behind air quality and air pollution campaigns, and growing awareness of the hazards posed by dirty air, among other things the Clean Air (Human Rights) Bill, was on the agenda. 

‘Human beings have an inalienable right to breathe clean air,’ said WCRAQ Chairman Barry Sheerman during his welcome speech. ‘The Westminster Commission has worked tirelessly to make this a reality. Over the last three years, we have held over 80 Working Party meetings. We have asked over 100 air quality-related questions in Parliament and sent seven letters to senior government officials, generating cross-party support from MPs and Peers.

‘We tabled our diesel particulate testing at MOT Bill and our local authority air quality audit Bill. These are still ongoing in Parliament, and I will do my second reading for the DPF bill very soon. I hope that the Government will commit to supporting the Bill. I have had good conversations with officials from the relevant Departments,’ he continued. 

The Clean Air (Human Rights) Bill will undergo its second reading in the House of Commons on Friday 24th February. The proposed act is also known as Ella’s Law in honour of nine-year-old Ella Adoo Kissi Debrah, the first person in Britain to have air pollution listed as a cause of death. Last week marked a decade since her tragic passing. Air Quality News spoke to the artist responsible for a three-day light installation which took place at London’s Southbank to commemorate the anniversary. Find out what they had to say here.

Image: Yaopey Yong

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