A coalition of 150 scientists, MPs, and activists has called on the government to launch a national inquiry into the unequal health impacts of air pollution. The letter, coordinated by the charity Enact Equality, urges Prime Minister Andy Burnham to address the disproportionate burden of toxic air on lower-income and minority-ethnic communities.
Research from the Institute for Fiscal Studies indicates that across England, areas with lower incomes consistently experience higher levels of air pollution than wealthier neighborhoods. The same data reveals that minority-ethnic populations are exposed to pollution levels approximately 6% higher than those experienced by white populations.
Rising Hospital Admissions for Children
The call for action follows new data obtained by the campaign group Mums for Lungs, which shows that more than 200,000 children in 11 English cities and areas, including London, Greater Manchester, and Birmingham, were taken to hospital for breathing difficulties in 2025. Younger children were the most affected, with over 120,000 babies and toddlers admitted to A&E or hospital.
Children are particularly vulnerable to air pollution because their lungs are still developing and they breathe more air relative to their body size than adults. In Manchester, admissions for babies and toddlers rose sharply from 653 in 2023 to 1,072 in 2025.
Jemima Hartshorn, founder of Mums for Lungs, described the situation as an “air pollution emergency.” She stated that behind every statistic is a child struggling to breathe and a family seeking help, emphasizing that dirty air cannot be treated as inevitable.
Legal Breaches and Policy Failures
Despite progress in reducing pollution in cities like London, new government data shows that parts of London, Glasgow, and Bristol still recorded illegal levels of air pollution in 2025. Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah, whose daughter became the first person in the UK to have air pollution cited on their death certificate, blamed a “failure of inaction by all the main political parties over so many years” for exposing the population to illegal emissions.
The letter highlights that while the UK lacks a dedicated mechanism to address these health inequalities, measures such as London’s ultra-low emission zone have proven effective. Such policies have been linked to improved air quality and stronger lung development in children.
However, local policy decisions have also drawn scrutiny. Mums for Lungs pointed to the 2023 decision by Andy Burnham, then mayor of Greater Manchester, to scrap plans for a clean air zone as a significant setback in efforts to drive down pollution levels.
Exposure to air pollution is linked to heart disease, strokes, cancer, asthma, and impaired lung development in children. Traffic emissions remain the leading threat to clean air, with petrol and diesel vehicles emitting a variety of toxic pollutants.
A spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said air quality continues to improve over the longer term. They added that new targets aim to cut harmful particle exposure by nearly a third by 2030, working with local authorities to maintain progress through clean air plans and monitoring.
Source: The Guardian
