Government passing the buck on air pollution, say campaigners

Critics say plan to make councils responsible for policing pollution in urban areas offers no extra money or new powers

A government plan to meet European air quality limits by letting councils ban diesel vehicles and charge drivers more for parking polluting cars and vans is disappointing and could result in further court cases and tens of thousands of unnecessary deaths, critics say.

The plan, drawn up by the Department for the Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra) in response to a supreme court ruling, proposes individual emission limits for four different vehicle types.