𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

These particles are considered to be the most harmful pollutant to health, by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Now Brussels wants to half the limit, and do it ten years earlier than the current target set in Whitehall.

Labour has announced today it wants to match the European goal, superseding the Environment Act, a British Act.

Sources at the Department for Education, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) told the Guardian newspaper that there would now be a consultation on how to cut soot pollutants

A paper that was produced suggested that this could include tighter controls on smoke control areas. These areas limit the types of fuels that can be branded ‘smokeless’.

It was suggested that this would amount to an effective ban on older appliances, and in some places, an outright ban on the use of wood-burning stoves.

Defra, speaking to the Daily Mail, confirmed the consult would not propose a ban on stoves already in homes.

A spokesperson for the department said: “Poor air quality robs people of their health and costs the NHS millions in extra treatments for lung conditions and asthma. Our new air quality targets will cut harmful particles by a third by 2030, improving the lives across the country.

“We recognise that for some households, wood burners are an important way to heat homes and our upcoming consultation will focus on tighter standards for new wood burning products to help reduce health impacts.”

Last year, in April, the Government of Scotland made it illegal for wood-burning stoves to be used as a primary heat source for new-build homes, in a blow to rural communities.

The decision was rolled back just months later after outcry from the public.