The Environment Bill is currently before the House of Commons, but the proceedings at Committee stage were suspended until further notice on 19th March 2020 due to the pressing demands of dealing with the coronavirus pandemic. The Bill is now due back for Report stage in June 2020. However, what is already clear is that the Environment Bill for England will constitute a significant dilution of air quality standards.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that air pollution kills an estimated 7 million people per year worldwide, and some 4.2 million premature deaths per year are caused by exposure to ambient (outdoor) air pollution. The WHO estimates that 91% of the world’s population lives in places where air pollution levels exceed the WHO limits reflected in its guidelines.

Businesses facing a potential prosecution by the Environment Agency may wish to consider whether the offer of an Enforcement Undertaking would be a viable alternative.

At present the population of the country is still locked down, and the United Kingdom Parliament is for the time being reduced to a half-empty echo chamber. It is against that background that the UK Government proposes to introduce a contact tracing app, and, apparently, to opt for the centralised version which carries greater risks from state surveillance.