A Freedom of Information (FOI) request sent to Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust (BHRUT) found that 2,142 children under five were admitted to Queen's Hospital with respiratory difficulties in 2023. The FOI was submitted by Mums for Lungs, an environmental group chiefly concerned with air quality. Havering Council, which acknowledged it does not reach World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendations for nitrogen dioxide levels, said the impacts of pollution were a "concern" for parents and young people.
The WHO recommends levels of nitrogen dioxide should only be at ten micrograms per cubic metre of air yearly. Mums for Lungs referred to data on the London Air website, which found an annual mean measurement of 25 micrograms per cubic metre of air at a monitoring site in Romford. Ruth Kettle-Frisby, a Havering parent and member of Mums for Lungs, said: "All children from Havering deserve to breathe clean air, including poorer children, disabled children and marginalised children who live and go to school on or near heavily polluted roads here.
" RELATED NEWS: East Havering Data Centre plan near Upminster gets resident opposition In response, the council said more work needed to be done. "While we meet UK limits, we don't meet WHO recommendations along with the rest of London and we know there is more work to be done." A spokesperson added that the council has set out its commitment for cleaner air and to tackle climate change in an action plan.
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