What's New

Keeping you Up-to-Date with Changes to the LAQM Pages

The LAQM Helpdesk is operated on behalf of Defra and the Devolved Administrations by Bureau Veritas, in conjunction with contract partners AECOM and the National Physical Laboratory, and replaces the three previously separate helpdesks which were in operation for LAQM.

2023 Updates

2022 Updates

2021 Updates

2023 Updates

7 August 2023

New FAQ Published

FAQ 142 – Three or more years of compliance with air quality objectives. Which years count towards the full compliance needed for revocation of an AQMA?

4 August 2023

Air Quality Grant 23/24 Scheme Launched

Local authorities in England can now apply for the Air Quality Grant Scheme 2023 to 2024. The grant will be competitive and will award at least £6 million to English local authorities.

Local Authorities should make applications via Atamis. Applications must be received by midday 29 September 2023.

The fund will be split between 2 lots:

Lot 1 will award funding to projects that improve local air quality and should be linked to Local Air Quality Action Plans (although consideration will also be given to unrelated innovative projects that align to national strategies/priorities). English Local Authorities are eligible to apply with the exception of:

• Local Authorities that are in the process of developing a local NO₂ Plan following the receipt of a Ministerial Direction under the 2017 Plan for tackling roadside NO₂ concentrations.
• Local Authorities that have completed a local NO₂ Plan and have been directed to carry out further measures as a result of that local Plan.

Lot 2 is open to all English Local Authorities and will award funding to:

• Projects that improve public awareness in local communities about the risks of air pollution
• Projects that deal with Particulate Matter

Contact us

Local Authorities who have a query about grant applications should send these via the messaging tool in Atamis.

If you have a general query about air quality, contact the Defra Helpline: defra.helpline@defra.gov.uk 

27 July 2023

UPDATE: Air Quality Grant 23/24 Scheme launch date

Defra’s Air Quality Grant scheme will now launch in August. The grant will be competitive and will award at least £6 million to English Local Authorities.
This years fund will be split between 2 lots:

Lot 1 will award funding to projects that improve local air quality and should be linked to Local Air Quality Action Plans (although consideration will also be given to unrelated innovative projects that align to national strategies/priorities). English LAs are eligible to apply with the exception of:

• LAs that are in the process of developing a local NO₂ Plan following the receipt of a Ministerial Direction under the 2017 Plan for tackling roadside NO₂ concentrations.
• LAs that have completed a local NO₂ Plan and have been directed to carry out further measures as a result of that local Plan.

Lot 2 is open to all English LAs and will award funding to:

• Projects that improve public awareness in local communities about the risks of air pollution.
• Projects that deal with Fine Particulate Matter (PM_2.5)

The majority of the finance available is capital so please bear this in mind whilst considering the type of project you may wish to apply for. Further details will be published in the Invitation to Apply (ITA) document.

The launch date and further details will follow shortly.

The Tender pack and ITA will be available when the scheme is launched.

5 July 2023

National Diffusion Tube Bias Adjustment Spreadsheet

The National Diffusion Tube Bias Adjustment Factors Spreadsheet June 2023 Update is now available.

This provides the second round of National Diffusion Tube Bias Adjustment Factors for 2022 diffusion tube monitoring data. We would like to thank all the local authorities who submitted co-location study results. Local authorities can continue to return co-location studies for diffusion tubes for inclusion (pending data quality checks) in the next update which is due in September 2023.

The summary of NO2 Diffusion Tube precision information has also been updated.

27 June 2023

Air Quality Grant 23/24 Scheme

Defra’s Air Quality Grant scheme will launch in July. The grant will be competitive and will award at least £6 million to English Local Authorities.

This years fund will be split between 2 lots:

Lot 1 will award funding to projects that improve local air quality and should be linked to Local Air Quality Action Plans (although consideration will also be given to unrelated innovative projects that align to national strategies/priorities).  English LAs are eligible to apply with the exception of:

• LAs that are in the process of developing a local NO₂ Plan following the receipt of a Ministerial Direction under the 2017 Plan for tackling roadside NO₂ concentrations.
• LAs that have completed a local NO₂ Plan and have been directed to carry out further measures as a result of that local Plan.

Lot 2 is open to all English LAs and will award funding to:

• Projects that improve public awareness in local communities about the risks of air pollution.
• Projects that deal with Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5)

The majority of the finance available is capital so please bear this in mind whilst considering the type of project you may wish to apply for. Further details will be published in the Invitation to Apply (ITA) document.

The launch date and further details will follow shortly.

The Tender pack and ITA will be available when the scheme is launched.

4 May 2023

Estimating PM_2.5 from PM₁₀ Measurements

 

The 2022 factors for estimating PM_2.5 from PM₁₀ measurements are now available for Roadside and Background sites.

24 March 2023

LAQM Annual Reporting Templates

The 2023 LAQM Annual Report Templates are now available. Links to the LAQM Annual Reporting Template are as follows:

• England (excluding London)
• London
• Scotland
• Northern Ireland
• Wales

Regional groups which include several local authorities can submit combined reports, however, you must contact the LAQM Helpdesk prior to submission to notify the Portal Admin team of this requirement.

Merged local authorities must submit one single report covering all local authorities that have been impacted by the merge.
The deadlines for the UK regional reports are as follows:

• England (excluding London) – 30^th June 2023
• London – 30^th May 2023
• Scotland – 30^th June 2023
• Northern Ireland – 30^th June 2023
• Wales – 30^th September 2023

National Diffusion Tube Bias Adjustment Spreadsheet

The National Diffusion Tube Bias Adjustment Factors Spreadsheet March 2023 Update is now available.

This provides the first round of National Diffusion Tube Bias Adjustment Factors for 2022 diffusion tube monitoring data. We would like to thank all the local authorities who submitted co-location study results. Local authorities can continue to return co-location studies for diffusion tubes for inclusion (pending data quality checks) in the next update which is due in June 2023.

The summary of NO2 Diffusion Tube precision information has also been updated.

21 March 2023

LAQM Annual Reporting Templates

The 2022 LAQM London Annual Status Report Template is now available. Link to the LAQM Annual Reporting Template is as follows:

• London

The deadline for the London reports is 30^th May 2023.

3 March 2023

LAQM Annual Reporting Templates

The 2023 LAQM England (exc. London) Annual Status Report Templates are now available. Link to the LAQM Annual Reporting Templates is as follows:

• England (excluding London)

Regional groups which include several local authorities can submit combined reports, however, you must contact the LAQM Helpdesk prior to submission to notify the Portal Admin team of this requirement.

Merged local authorities must submit one single report covering all local authorities that have been impacted by the merge.

The deadline for the England (excluding London) reports is 30^th June 2023.

For England (excluding London) only, there continues to be a mandatory requirement to submit all NO₂ diffusion tube data via the Diffusion Tube Data Upload System (DTDES) upload facility, part of the LAQM Portal. This submission should be completed once all monitoring data for 2022 has been processed and prior to submission of the Annual Status Report.

Diffusion Tube Data Processing Tool

A new version of Diffusion Tube Data Processing Tool has been published to assist local authorities in processing their NO₂ diffusion tube monitoring data.

Updates within v3.0 of the tool include the ability to select 2022 as the monitoring year, use of up to 7 co-location sites for calculation of a local bias adjustment factor and a diffusion tube co-ordinate check which indicates whether diffusion tubes are located within the local authority boundary.

9 February 2023

Air quality grant scheme 2022 to 2023

We are pleased to announce the outcome of the 2022/23 Air Quality Grant funding round.

44 projects, with a value of £10.7 million have been awarded funding including low-emission transport schemes and educational programmes for healthcare providers.

Funding has been announced to successful applicants through Bravo, if you applied to the 22/23 scheme please login to your bravo account for updates.

The successful funding list can also be seen on Air quality grant scheme website.

If you have a general query about air quality, please contact the Defra Helpline.

2022 Updates

2 November 2022

2023 Diffusion Tube Calendar

The 2023 Diffusion Tube Monitoring Calendar, providing recommended exposure dates, is now available.

29 September 2022

National Diffusion Tube Bias Adjustment Spreadsheet

The National Diffusion Tube Bias Adjustment Factors Spreadsheet September 2022 Update is now available.

This provides the final round of National Diffusion Tube Bias Adjustment Factors for 2021 diffusion tube monitoring data. We would like to thank all the local authorities who submitted co-location study results. Local authorities can continue to return co-location studies for diffusion tubes for inclusion (pending data quality checks) in the next update which is due in March 2023.

The summary of NO2 Diffusion Tube precision information has also been updated.

18 August 2022

LAQM.PG(22) – England (exc. London) Only

The revised policy guidance reflects the strengthened LAQM framework provided for by Schedule 11 of the Environment Act 2021 (the Act). This follows a consultation which ran for 10 weeks until 6 June 2022. Defra’s full government response to this consultation is available here. This is the first update to the LAQM policy guidance since 2016.

Key updates within LAQM.PG(22) include:

• Requiring local Air Quality Action Plans (AQAPs) to demonstrate how they will ensure that local Air Quality Objectives are met and maintained. AQAPs should set out a date by when each measure will be carried out. Air Quality Action Plans that do not fulfil these criteria will need to be revised.
• The requirement for an Air Quality Management Area to be declared within 12 months of identifying an exceedance of the air quality objectives.
• The requirement for local authorities to produce an Air Quality Action Plan within 18 months of declaring an Air Quality Management Area.
• The introduction of a system of reminder and warning letters to increase local authority compliance with reporting.

LAQM.TG(22) – UK (exc. London) Only

The new version of the technical guidance corresponds to updates in the latest version of the LAQM Policy Guidance for England.  While the main changes within this version of the technical guidance are in relation to new English Policy Guidance, the Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish Devolved Administrations have provided inputs and included updates throughout, where relevant.

Key updates within LAQM.TG(22) include:

• Updated section relating to process for consultation, steering groups and engaging with Relevant Public Authorities (RPAs) to support the updated Policy Guidance in producing Air Quality Action Plans to the required standard.
• In England and Wales, the Fast-track option has been removed and now authorities must declare an AQMA within 12 months of an identified exceedance or risk of exceedance. The flow chart detailing the process for declaring, amending and revoking AQMAs has been updated in light of these changes.
• Updated study on assumptions for exceedances of short term NO₂ objectives. The updated study has affirmed the existing assumption that, at concentrations above 60µg/m³ as an annual average, there is the potential for exceedances of the 1-hour objective.
• Updated study on relationship of PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 for the purpose of estimating PM_2.5 concentrations where only PM₁₀ monitoring is available. Going forward, two separate factors will be calculated on an annual basis for background and roadside sites by analysing data from the AURN.
• From 2023 in England, Local Authorities are required to produce an Air Quality Strategy where they have no declared AQMAs.
• A worked example of model verification for modelling of road emissions.
• Clarified section on diffusion tube deployment and siting.
• Discussion around use of diffusion tubes with wind caps, including the process for bias adjustment for these different tube types.
• Further clarity is provided for completion of source apportionment where detailed modelling has not been completed.
• Inclusion of potential mitigation processes for non-transport sources.

Designation of National Highways as a ‘relevant public authority’ – England (exc. London) Only

The Environment Act 2021 introduces the concept of ‘Air Quality Partners’ – including neighbouring local authorities and the Environment Agency as well as designated ‘relevant public authorities’.

Following consultation which ran for 10 weeks until 6 June 2022, we are also announcing today that the Government will designate National Highways as a ‘relevant public authority’.  We aim to lay the designation SI in the Autumn.  Defra’s full government response to this consultation is available here.

This change will require National Highways to collaborate with local authorities to improve air quality – becoming an ‘air quality partner’ where locally relevant.  We also consulted on guidance on working with air quality partners and specific guidance on working with National Highways.  This will be published alongside the LAQM policy guidance once National Highways is legally designated. However, the draft that was consulted on can be accessed and viewed now here at Annex A.

Local authority air quality officers are asked to:

• Familiarise yourselves with the new statutory guidance and legislation.
• Bring these changes to the attention of others in your local authority (and upper tier authorities where relevant) who should be aware of the strengthened LAQM framework.
• Consider which additional public authorities (bodies with functions of a public nature that could affect the quality of air) should be considered for designation as a “relevant public authority”.
• Review and revise AQAPs as necessary.

Local Authority Dashboard – England (exc. London) Only

The local authority dashboard has been developed to add additional capabilities to the existing LAQM portal. The dashboard has been populated with the following information unique to each individual local authority:

• Helpdesk Enquiries: Local authorities are able to check enquiries they have made to the Helpdesk and keep track of any ongoing queries.
• Reporting: Any overdue annual reports or missing information is highlighted to authorities to help them keep up to date with their reporting requirements.
• AQMAs: Headline AQMA data is available on the dashboard as a helpful summary.
• Monitoring: The diffusion tube monitoring data for your local authority is presented as interactive maps and graphics showing site types, number of sites which are exceeding and the trends in NO₂ annual mean concentrations over time to assist in development of Annual Status Reports and inform any updates to the diffusion tube programme.
• AQAPs: A list of AQAPs associated to AQMAs is presented. This provides clear guidance to local authorities to ascertain which AQMAs are missing AQAPs, as well as the AQMAs which require an updated AQAP to be published.

11 August 2022

LAQM Portal User Guide

A user guide for local authorities accessing the LAQM Portal has been published. This provides instructions for the submission of Annual Reports, AQAPs, Diffusion Tube Data (England exc. London Only), alongside submitting AQMA changes and Detailed Assessments.

26 July 2022

Air Quality Grant 22/23 Scheme – update

Local authorities in England can now apply for the Air Quality Grant Scheme 2022 to 2023.  The grant will be competitive and will award at least £7 million to English local authorities.

Local authorities should make applications via Bravo under view current opportunities. Applications must be received by midday 23 September 2022.

The fund this year is split into 2 Lots and in particular, we’re looking for applications for:

• Lot 1 will award funding to projects that improve local air quality and should be linked to Local Air Quality Action Plans (although consideration will also be given to unrelated innovative projects that align to national strategies/priorities).  English LAs are eligible to apply with the exception of:
  • LAs that are in the process of developing a Local NO₂ Plan following the receipt of a Ministerial Direction under the 2017 Plan for tackling roadside NO₂ concentrations.
  • LAs that have completed a Local NO₂ Plan and have been directed to carry out further measures as a result of that Local Plan.
• Lot 2 is open to all English LAs and will award funding to:
  • Projects that improve public awareness in local communities about the risks of air pollution
  • Projects that deal with Particulate Matter

Contact us

Local Authorities who have a query about grant applications should send these via the messaging tool in Bravo.

If you have a general query about air quality, contact the Defra Helpline

8 July 2022

Diffusion Tube QA QC Framework

The latest summaries of participating laboratories’ performance in the AIR-PT scheme for NO₂ diffusion tubes have been added and are now available on the QA QC Framework page.

1 July 2022

Air Quality Grant 22/23 Scheme – update

Defra’s Air Quality Grant scheme will launch in mid-July. The grant will be competitive and will award at least £7 million to English Local Authorities.

This years fund will be split between 2 lots:

1. Lot 1 will award funding to projects that improve local air quality and should be linked to Local Air Quality Action Plans (although consideration will also be given to unrelated innovative projects that align to national strategies/priorities).  English LAs are eligible to apply with the exception of:
   • LAs that are in the process of developing a local NO₂ Plan following the receipt of a Ministerial Direction under the 2017 Plan for tackling roadside NO₂ concentrations.
   • LAs that have completed a local NO₂ Plan and have been directed to carry out further measures as a result of that local Plan.
2. Lot 2 is open to all English LAs and will award funding to:
   • Projects that improve public awareness in local communities about the risks of air pollution
   • Projects that deal with Particulate Matter

The majority of the finance available is capital so please bear this in mind whilst considering the type of project you may wish to apply for. Further details will be published in the Invitation to Apply (ITA) document.

The launch date and further details will follow shortly.

The ITA will be available when the scheme is officially launched and can be accessed after registering an interest in Defra’s e-application system, Bravo, which can be found at https://defra.bravosolution.co.uk.

30 June 2022

National Diffusion Tube Bias Adjustment Spreadsheet

The National Diffusion Tube Bias Adjustment Factors Spreadsheet June 2022 Update is now available.

This provides the second round of National Diffusion Tube Bias Adjustment Factors for 2021 diffusion tube monitoring data. We would like to thank all the local authorities who submitted co-location study results. Local authorities can continue to return co-location studies for diffusion tubes for inclusion (pending data quality checks) in the next update which is due in September 2022.

The summary of NO2 Diffusion Tube precision information has also been updated.

1 April 2022

National Diffusion Tube Bias Adjustment Spreadsheet

The National Diffusion Tube Bias Adjustment Factors Spreadsheet March 2022 Update is now available.

This provides the first round of National Diffusion Tube Bias Adjustment Factors for 2021 diffusion tube monitoring data. We would like to thank all the local authorities who submitted co-location study results. Local authorities can continue to return co-location studies for diffusion tubes for inclusion (pending data quality checks) in the next update which is due in June 2022.

The summary of NO2 Diffusion Tube precision information has also been updated.

10 March 2022

LAQM Annual Reporting Templates

The 2022 LAQM Report Templates are now available. Links to the LAQM Annual Reporting Templates are as follows:

• England (excluding London)
• London
• Scotland
• Wales
• Northern Ireland

Regional groups which include several local authorities can submit combined reports, however, you must contact the LAQM Helpdesk prior to submission to notify the Portal Admin team of this requirement.

Merged local authorities must submit one single report covering all local authorities that have been impacted by the merge.

The deadlines for the UK regional reports are as follows:

• England (excluding London) – 30^th June 2022
• London – 30^th May 2022
• Scotland – 30^th June 2022
• Northern Ireland – 30^th June 2022
• Wales – 30^th September 2022

For England (excluding London) only, there continues to be a mandatory requirement to submit all NO₂ diffusion tube data via the Diffusion Tube Data Upload System (DTDES) upload facility, part of the LAQM Portal. This submission should be completed once all monitoring data for 2021 has been processed and prior to submission of the Annual Status Report.

LAQM Air Quality Action Plan Templates

A new version of the LAQM Air Quality Action Plan (AQAP) Template for all UK regions (excluding London) has been published. This has been updated to bring the template in-line with the with Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018. Please use this for any AQAPs which are due to be updated or published.

Diffusion Tube Data Processing Tool

A new version of Diffusion Tube Data Processing Tool has been published to assist local authorities in processing their NO₂ diffusion tube monitoring data.

Updates within v2.0 of the tool include the ability to select 2021 as the monitoring year, use of up to 7 co-location sites for calculation of a local bias adjustment factor and a diffusion tube co-ordinate check which indicates whether diffusion tubes are located within the local authority boundary.

2021 Updates