Dismore: Boris Johnson “hid report on schools’ poisonous air quality” in Camden

 

 

London Assembly Member for Barnet and Camden Andrew Dismore has criticised former Mayor of London Boris Johnson for concealing a damning GLA report that links poor air quality with deprivation in schools.

 

The report, ‘Analysing Air Pollution in London’ states that 433 schools in the capital are located in areas that exceed EU limits for nitrogen dioxide pollution – and that four-fifths of those are in deprived areas. In comparison, of the 1,344 schools located in areas below the pollution limit, less than a fifth were in deprived areas. Almost all the primary schools in Camden were affected.

 

Mr Dismore said:

 

“It is outrageous that Boris Johnson hid a report that was such a full indictment of his eight years of failure on air quality. Boris Johnson was never straight with the public, and this parting gift is a final insult to small children.

 

‘Poor air quality in London is a scandal. Within just the first few months of the year we had already exceeded the EU limit on NO2 pollution. If we make an effort to encourage healthy eating and sports participation in school to keep our kids healthy, then we must make an effort to improve the air they breathe, too.

 

‘I am pleased that Sadiq Khan, the new Mayor of London, has put the quality of air at the top of his agenda. I know that the Labour administration on Camden Council take this issue very seriously, and will be pleased to find a willing partner in Sadiq.”

 

The report, commissioned by the Greater London Authority in 2013, was never published under the mayoralty of Boris Johnson. Report authors Katie King and Sean Healy told the Guardian newspaper that there was “still a clear disparity between deprived and non-deprived schools”.

 

Explaining the reason, they said: “A possible explanation for the general trend may be the link between lower house prices, and hence poorer households, and proximity to main roads. Roads are a very significant source of NO2 emissions in London.”

 

NOTES:

 

  1. Schools in Camden highlighted by the report as having poor air quality listed below:
School Borough Total pupils (2012) % pupils on free school meals Average NO2 Concentration in 2010 Average NO2 Concentration in 2015 Projected NO2 concentration by 2020
Argyle Primary School Camden 420 70% 63.12 55.33 47.42
St Josephs Primary School Camden 207 46% 58.19 51.51 44.3
Christopher Hatton Primary School Camden 228 45% 57.95 50.53 43.54
Holy Trinity CofE Primary School, NW3 Camden 186 59% 53.21 48.41 41.58
St Alban’s Church of England Primary School Camden 194 52% 53.16 46.74 40.81
Hawley Infant School Camden 52.98 46.73 39.55
Richard Cobden Primary School Camden 463 67% 51.48 45.95 39.21
Kentish Town Church of England Primary School Camden 267 63% 50.12 45.46 40.67
Netley Primary School Camden 438 91% 50.03 44.36 38.33
St George the Martyr Church of England Primary School Camden 216 69% 49.67 44.06 38.69
St Aloysius Roman Catholic Infant School Camden 49.41 43.75 38.24
St Michael’s Church of England Primary School Camden 215 87% 49.11 44.15 37.86
Our Lady Roman Catholic Primary School Camden 195 66% 48.71 43.97 37.75
St Aloysius Roman Catholic Junior School Camden 225 60% 48.63 43.08 37.5
Edith Neville Primary School Camden 257 64% 48.2 42.96 38.19
St Mary and St Pancras Church of England Primary School Camden 229 54% 48.03 42.63 37.15
St Dominic Catholic Primary School Camden 304 69% 47.53 43.84 38.65
Fleet Primary School Camden 235 40% 47.25 43.48 37.69
Rosary Roman Catholic Primary School Camden 357 46% 46.37 42.44 37.57
Brecknock Primary School Camden 336 79% 46.3 41.73 35.94
Christ Church School Camden 229 48% 46.3 41.49 35.91
Gospel Oak Primary School Camden 466 71% 45.72 42.5 38.84
Fitzjohn’s Primary School Camden 233 28% 44.08 40.74 35.48
St Mary’s Kilburn Church of England Primary School Camden 224 73% 43.54 38.49 32.57
Eleanor Palmer Primary School Camden 236 29% 43.45 38.83 33.58
St Patrick’s Catholic Primary School Camden 227 53% 43.41 38.86 33.94
Rhyl Primary School Camden 442 69% 43.17 39.19 33.79
St Eugene de Mazenod Roman Catholic Primary School Camden 207 79% 43.12 38.15 32.31
St Paul’s Church of England Primary School Camden 207 22% 42.72 39.17 34.43
Hampstead Parochial Church of England Primary School Camden 203 33% 42.34 38.45 32.59
Holy Trinity and Saint Silas CofE Primary School, NW1 Camden 210 46% 42.33 38.35 33.78
Torriano Junior School Camden 237 60% 42.28 38.23 33.37
Torriano Infant School Camden 42.28 38.23 33.37
St Luke’s Church of England Primary Camden 16 42.05 37.97 32.18
Emmanuel Church of England Primary School Camden 117 13% 41.66 37.55 32.06
Beckford Primary School Camden 456 66% 41.5 38.03 33.77
Primrose Hill School Camden 475 68% 41.38 37.44 32.77
Carlton Primary School Camden 388 88% 40.65 37.02 32.79

 

  1. Article from the Guardian can be found here: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/may/16/boris-johnson-accused-of-burying-study-linking-pollution-and-deprived-schools?CMP=share_btn_tw
  2. The report, “Analysing air pollution in London” can be found here: https://www.scribd.com/doc/312760725/Analysing-Air-Pollution-Exposure-in-London?secret_password=UjnUA1OxDIURIebGARhZ
  3. Andrew Dismore is the Labour London Assembly Member for Barnet and Camden
FacebookTwitterLinkedInShare