Cleaner Air for Scotland 2: Ministerial Working Group minutes - June 2025

Attendees and apologies

• Anne Aitken, Scottish Government - Chair
• Helen Mansbridge, Scottish Government
• Andrew Taylor, Scottish Government
• Tanith Allinson, Scottish Government
• Louise Alexander, Scottish Government
• John Stone, Guild of Master Chimney Sweeps
• Joanna Zwitserlood, SEPA
• Tom Winter, Scottish Government – Planning 
• Jessica Baker, Public Health Scotland
• Sarah Robertson, Public Health Scotland
• Susan Cameron, Transport Scotland
• Vincent McInally, Transport Scotland
• Jennifer Wraith, Society of Local Authority Chief Executives (SOLACE)
• Bruce Allen, HETAS
• Robert Nicol, COSLA

Apologies

• Sarah Cowie, NFUS
• Nicole Paterson, SEPA
• Craig Hatton, Society of Local Authority Chief Executives (SOLACE)
• Lawson Wight, National Association of Chimney Sweeps
• Fiona Simpson, Scottish Government – Planning
• Gareth Brown, Asthma and Lung UK

Items and actions

Welcome

Anne welcomed the Group to the sixth meeting of the Ministerial Working Group which she was chairing as the Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Energy was unable to attend due to diary commitments.  Anne outlined the agenda and noted no comments on the minutes from the previous meeting. One action from the previous meeting was highlighted and noted as complete. 

Annual progress report and updates on CAFS2 actions

The Scottish Government gave an overview of this year’s progress report and the progress made over the last year noting that six actions have been delivered since the last report with thirteen actions remaining, highlighting: 

• to support engagement the Air Quality Engagement Network has been launched for stakeholders. A new page on UK Air, for the public, showcases air quality in local areas and actions individuals can take.  Work is also continuing to support Clean Air Day this year
• Nature Scotland has updated their webpages to showcase how nature can improve air quality, with practical examples
• the review of the Clean Air Act 1993 has progressed with the support of stakeholders. Four areas have been identified to consider further – enforcement, emissions, nuisance and installations
• reduction in AQMAs in Scotland from 43 to 19 demonstrating positive trend in air quality improvement  

The focus for the year ahead is delivering the remaining actions and engaging on the development of the new framework. 

Public Health Scotland noted the potential learnings by linking up with UK Air and using the next framework to communicate on air quality issues. 

SEPA commented that the reduction in AQMAs is a measurable impact and asked if the Scottish Government has a sense of which actions have had the most measurable impacts. It was highlighted that the introduction of the LEZs helped achieve compliance with air quality objectives and revoked AQMAs as a result.  

Public engagement update

The Scottish Government set out more detail on the Air Quality Engagement Network, which was launched a few months ago.  The Knowledge Hub has been set up as a space for stakeholders interested in Scotland’s air quality to collaborate and share knowledge and best practices. The team  is also looking to set up a series of stakeholder events on the development of the next air quality framework, as well as continuing the lunchtime seminar series. Next steps are to focus on aligning the public engagement framework with the new air quality framework.

The Scottish Government updated the Group on planned activity for Clean Air Day on Thursday 19th June.  This year a social media campaign will highlight the issue of vehicle idling.  A new webpage has also been launched on the scot.gov webpage dedicated to information and guidance on anti-idling.  

Air Quality Expert Advisory Group (AQEAG) update

The first meeting of the AQEAG took place last week, chaired by the Chief Scientific Advisor - Environment. This group brings together academic expertise in the air quality field and will feed into our ongoing plans for the next framework.  Minutes of the meeting will be published and an Advice Note from the group will be shared in due course. 

Action: Scottish Government to share Terms of Reference of the AQEAG, once these are signed off.

Any other business and close

No other business was raised and the meeting was drawn to a close.