Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 2 November 2026 to Question 37591, how her Department’s responsibilities for air pollution from human activity and natural sources interface with the Departme
Answer
Each Department has processes in place to manage the incidents mentioned. Departments will also work with relevant Local Resilience Forums to manage public health risks and communications. If wildfire or volcanic activity is measured through our air quality monitoring network, it can trigger an air pollution alert.
Verdict: AMBER (40/100)
The reply covers one part of the question: how natural sources such as wildfires and volcanic activity feed into the air quality monitoring network and trigger alerts. It says departments have incident processes and work with Local Resilience Forums. It does not explain how responsibility for air pollution from human activity divides from natural sources, or how the two departments' remits fit together, which was the central point of the question. A member of the public would likely need to ask again for that division of responsibility.
How we got there
| Question item | Coverage | Specificity | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|
| How the Department's responsibilities for air pollution from human activity and natural sources interface with the responsibilities of another department (the question is truncated, so the named department cannot be fully identified). | Partially Addressed | Direct | The reply covers the natural-source side (wildfire and volcanic activity feeding the air quality monitoring network and triggering alerts), and says departments have incident processes and work with Local Resilience Forums. It never sets out how responsibility for human-activity air pollution divides from natural sources or how the two departments' remits interlock, so the core interface question is only partly answered. |