The solid fuel burning consultation that closed in March 2026 remains under review, according to Defra's latest annual progress report on the Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP), which covers April 2025 to March 20261. The consultation covered stricter stove emission limits, higher fines for selling wet wood, and mandatory warning labels1.
The report runs to 192 pages and tracks delivery against all 308 actions in the plan1. By the end of March 2026, over 85% of actions were in progress, under 10% had been completed, and around 5% had not started or were off track1. The single tracked action covering domestic combustion reads:
"Consult on new measures that cut emissions from domestic combustion, whilst minimising the impact on those that need to burn and respecting traditional celebratory festivals such as Bonfire Night and Diwali"
Air quality is described as the best-performing goal in the report alongside chemicals and pesticides, with nine of its eleven indicators improving in the short term1. The 2030 target for fine particulate matter (PM2.5) emissions is a 46% reduction against a 2005 baseline, and the latest data shows this has already been achieved1. Current projections show government also expects to be compliant with all five 2030 pollutant reduction commitments, with ammonia needing a technical adjustment1. The report notes that this measures total UK emissions rather than ambient concentrations, which are a different metric1.
| Measure | Status in the report |
|---|---|
| Solid fuel burning consultation | Closed March 2026, still under review1 |
| 2030 PM2.5 emissions target (46% reduction on 2005) | Already achieved1 |
| 2030 pollutant reduction commitments (five) | Expected compliant, ammonia needs technical adjustment1 |
| Next full review of the Air Quality Strategy | Due by mid-20281 |
Separately, government published its formal response to the Office for Environmental Protection's 54 recommendations1. It partially accepted a call for a full audit of local authority powers and barriers to air quality enforcement, but no formal audit is planned; the work will instead be embedded within standard operating approach1. The National Air Pollution Control Programme will be replaced with a simpler publication triggered when a target is missed or at risk1. A recommendation on strengthening legal air quality standards was deferred, though the response explicitly names "the increasing use of wood-burning stoves and open fires" as a pollution source it is looking to reduce, alongside road transport1.
HETAS, an independent certification body, said it had responded to the consultation and advised government to reconsider several proposals1. Its chief executive, Barry Cope, said the organisation will host an industry roundtable in October at The Building Performance Hub in High Wycombe, bringing together manufacturers, installers, sweeps and suppliers1. No date for the consultation outcome has been reported1.
Why it matters for households
The three proposals in the closed consultation go to the practicalities of burning solid fuel at home: what stoves may be sold, what it costs to sell or buy unseasoned wood, and what labelling appears on fuel. None has been decided, so the rules a household burns under today are unchanged. The wider air quality picture is the context for those decisions: the 2030 PM2.5 emissions target has already been met on the emissions measure, while the report notes this is not the same as the concentrations people breathe1. For a home using a stove or open fire as part of its heating, the direction of travel in the report is that domestic combustion stays on the government's agenda, and the timing of any change is not yet known. How such rules are proposed and decided is set out in the site's guide to energy consultations.
What happens next
The consultation outcome is still being reviewed, with no date given1. The next full review of the Air Quality Strategy is due by mid-20281. HETAS plans an industry roundtable in October 2026, with registration by email and further details to follow1.