In the BBC Question Time special last night that feature Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn one of the questions that came up related to the pollution levels in the UK. The environment is not usually a high profile campaign issue but with the recent decision by Donald Trump to pull out out of the Paris Climate Agreement it is hitting the headlines.

With this in mind it is important to bring attention to the recent decision by a group of activist lawyers, ClientEarth, to challenge the UK’s plan to tackle air pollution levels that was put forward by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

This is not the first time that the government proposals on this issue will be tested before the courts and even these plans have been subject to inordinate delays and a legal battle of their own.

Once the plan was released it was scrutinised carefully by ClientEarth and found wanting in a number of areas including the proposed timeline for action as well as the response to diesel vehicles that are widely recognised as emitters of particularly harmful pollutants such as Nitrogen Dioxide.

This was made clear in a letter to Defra but after the government department refused to make improvements to the plan it now looks to be once again heading to the High Court.

In the meantime the plan is available here and is open to comments and responses from the public.If you are interested in giving the government your views then you can complete an online survey either through the government website or by visiting https://get.healthyair.org.uk/