Energy and environment consultancy AEA Technology has had a major contract renewed.

The five-year deal, worth £4.7m, involves assessing air quality data for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Scottish Government, Welsh Assembly Government and the Department of the Environment Northern Ireland through the Automatic Urban and Rural Network (AURN).

Air quality is continuously monitored for selected pollutants at more than 120 sites across the UK and AEA advises the authorities on what action can be taken.

Using the data, Harwell-based AEA's team is also able to forecast air quality on a daily basis and predict air quality in the future.

AEA has held the contract for more than ten years.

Chief executive Andrew McCree said: "This is an area of science where the UK is genuinely leading the world and as more nations become aware of environmental and specifically air quality issues, we see great opportunities for AEA to export our expertise across the globe."