A group of 150 scientists, Members of Parliament and activists has urged Burnham to launch an inquiry into the unequal health impacts of air pollution, arguing that urgent action is needed to protect communities most affected.
The letter, circulated to political leaders and policymakers, emphasised that air pollution is not evenly distributed and called for a formal investigation to identify the drivers of disparity and the measures required to reduce harm. Signatories said the inquiry should focus on protecting lower-income and minority-ethnic communities that bear a disproportionate burden.
Research by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) was cited to underpin the appeal: the IFS analysis shows that across England, areas with lower incomes have persistently higher levels of air pollution than wealthier neighbourhoods. The coalition said the gap in exposure translates into unequal health risks and demands targeted policy responses.
Campaigners and scientists urged that an inquiry should look beyond broad air-quality targets to examine local exposure patterns, the interaction of pollution with other social determinants of health, and the effectiveness of current regulatory and planning frameworks. They argued that such scrutiny is necessary to design interventions that will reduce pollutants where they harm people most.
The appeal frames air pollution as both a public-health and social-justice issue, stressing that any official investigation should engage affected communities and produce clear recommendations for reducing inequality in exposure and health outcomes. The signees called on decision-makers to act on existing evidence and to ensure that future policymaking addresses the unequal distribution of environmental harm.
If instituted, the inquiry would add to ongoing debates about how to reconcile national air-quality objectives with localised disparities, and about the role of policymakers in targeting resources to improve health for vulnerable populations.