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Heartbeat: Leaders make promise to save lives by reducing air pollution

June 11, 2019

Chief Executive, Toby Lewis has vowed to work together with two other West Midlands organisations to reduce pollution after signing a clean air agreement. The declaration comes following an air quality summit which took place at Midland Met.

The Memorandum of Understanding was signed by Toby, Councillor Waseem Zaffar on behalf of Birmingham City Council, and Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council’s Councillor Elaine Costigan, Cabinet Member for Public Health and Protection, to establish an Air Quality Partnership. The anticipation is that other agencies will join this collaboration.

With thousands of people regularly commuting between Sandwell and Birmingham, transport improvements and air pollution issues are cross–boundary. Therefore the partners will work together to help reduce levels of pollution in West Birmingham and Sandwell, establishing a joint stance on the Birmingham Clean Air Zone, Sandwell Air Quality Action Plan and Birmingham Clean Air Strategy.

Toby noted that around 40 per cent of acute admissions our emergency departments were due to respiratory distress. He added: “By signing this agreement we are showing our commitment to this policy which works towards providing a better environment for the people of Sandwell and West Birmingham. Over the summer, we will work with our colleagues who travel around the clean air zone to ensure they are aware of this policy and we are also looking at our own fleet of vehicles so that they are environmentally friendly. We view the changes being led by the local authorities as a public health emergency and an economic opportunity for local people.

Councillor, Elaine Costigan (Labour, Wednesbury North) said she was excited about working together in the partnership. While Councillor, Waseem Zaffar (Labour, Lozells) of Birmingham City Council and Non–Executive Director at our Trust emphasised the need to address health inequalities in Sandwell and Birmingham and outlined how the Clean Air Zone is part of the wider ‘Brum Breathes’ programme.

“The Clean Air Zone is such a simple policy, but it has a far bigger impact on Sandwell in terms of health benefits and displacement,” he said.

The Brum Breathes programme devised by Birmingham City Council and its partners sets out what is being done to tackle the problem and what else is required.