Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution

The RCGP is pleased to be asked to submit evidence at this stage of the Royal Commission's Study.

Environmental planning has a wide scope and encompasses pollution control, air quality, waste, agri-environment and biodiversity. All these issues have an effect on environmental sustainability and in turn on people's health and social care outcomes. The RCGP supports integrated partnerships and co-operation with different planning agencies. The NHS has been looking into health and social care delivery for clients supported by primary care trusts within populations of about 200,000 people. Trust boundaries are likely to be coterminous with local authorities and therefore environmental planning will have a health and social services input and health and social care impact.

Health inequalities do occur in rural and isolated areas. Planning decisions will affect the health of rural populations if planning decisions are made without looking at health and social needs and if these needs are not supported by planners. Profit motives alone should not affect decisions on health and social needs.

We have the following specific comments:-

1. Administrative boundaries should be removed and open discussion on issues which affect adjacent areas be the norm. Transport, housing, schools, surgeries and shops are important community structures which will have an impact on environmental planning decisions.
2. Integration and co-ordination. Current arrangements appear to exclude health issues in the decision making processes. Many rural and isolated communities are suffering from lack of integration and co-ordination with lack of services or removal of services leading to increasing isolation, poverty and ill health.
3. Subsidiarity and democracy. This needs clarification of policies from national to local with different interpretations depending on local needs. Accountability and listening to local voices does not often occur in practice. Decisions made by national bodies may override local needs.

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