Dear Secretary of State,

We, the members of the UK Radon Association, are writing to you on behalf of the 1,100 people in the UK who lose their lives each year to lung cancer caused by exposure to radon.  

As Secretary of State for Health and Social Care you have committed to creating a ‘smoke free generation’, however we believe that the focus of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill fails to consider the wider causes of non-smoking related lung cancer.

The UKRA is using this year’s Radon Awareness Week (3^rd – 9^th November 2025) to call on you as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to consider the following proposals:

1.The Government will commit to launching a new radon-focused communications campaign, tasked with contacting every school in the UK. This campaign will focus on making schools aware of their legal obligation to carry out radon risk assessments and, where necessary, testing, so that every child and staff member is properly protected from this preventable health risk. 

Previous governments have tried and failed to rollout such campaigns effectively. Anecdotal evidence from the HSE suggests that as many as two-thirds of schools in radon affected areas have not carried out radon testing. This means it is likely that more than 100,000 children are being exposed to high levels of radon whilst at school. We would therefore question the success of previous endeavours, and it is an opportunity for this government to deliver the robust and effective campaign we are calling for.

2. The Government will create a secondary communications initiative targeting early years settings such as nurseries and pre-schools, many of which are privately run, to ensure they understand and comply with their duty to assess radon risks in the same way schools must.

3. The Government will commit to providing every health visitor facility and local health service across the country with information on radon, for use and publication within each public facing location, so families understand the risks radon poses to children and other family members in the home, encouraging them to test and take action where needed.

Radon is a colourless, odourless radioactive gas which is formed by the radioactive decay of the small amounts of uranium that occur naturally in all rocks and soils. 3.3% of all deaths from lung cancer in the UK result from indoor radon exposure and we believe it is the responsibility of this Government to do more to raise awareness around the risks of exposure to radon, and to promote the methods and benefits of testing and remediation.

We trust that you will agree that this could be a highly effective way of protecting younger generations from preventable lung cancers, and that you will give this matter the consideration it deserves and we would be grateful for the opportunity to discuss our proposals with you in further detail.

Yours sincerely,

Dr Maria Dugdale
Chair