8. Will the Minister outline measures the Welsh Government is taking to ensure local authorities are maintaining levels of air quality? OAQ(5)0010(ERA)

Thank you. Improving local air quality is a key objective for the Welsh Government. We support local authorities in the implementation of their duties under the Environment Act 1995, which requires them to monitor air quality and implement action plans to improve it in areas affected by high levels of pollution.

Thank you for that answer, Cabinet Secretary. The A472 in Crumlin: according to Government data, the levels of nitrogen dioxide here are the highest recorded in the UK outside London. The levels are exceeded in England only by a similar monitor on Marylebone Road in central London, and according to Asthma UK Cymru, 314,000 people have asthma in Wales, including 59,000 children: almost one child in 10. A report from NHS Wales and the Welsh Government, published in 2015, said the percentage of patients registered with their GP for asthma and COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, was greater than in England, and there had been a slight increase in recent years. What urgent action can the Welsh Government take to work with Caerphilly County Borough Council and other stakeholders to lift the scourge of air pollution?

Thank you. My officials have sought assurances from Caerphilly County Borough Council in relation to the A472 air quality management area near Crumlin that you mention, concerning what action they’re going to take to improve the local air quality. The council are planning a steering group meeting, which you’re probably aware of next month, and they’re going to get input from local groups and local residents, which I think is really important. They’re then going to have an air quality action plan developed. That will also include a list of traffic management options for the area to measure the air quality in the area. The council has given us an initial date of November for when this will be implemented, but I’ve asked officials to monitor that very carefully to make sure they do keep to that timeline.

The Port Talbot peripheral distributor road, opened to relieve local traffic demand on the M4, has been operational for about three years now. What data has the Welsh Government received from the local authority, or extracted from its own work during the junction 41 experiment, about changes to movements of traffic and air quality in particular? Can you tell me what permanent changes have been identified to air quality and are those influential in your final decision on what’s going to happen to junction 41?

I’m afraid I don’t have those data to hand, but I will be happy to write to the Member with that.

Following on from that question, obviously the air quality in Port Talbot, Cabinet Secretary, has been recognised to be one of the worst in Wales. In fact, a World Health Organization report recently published said that it was the worst in the UK for some particulates, and definitely one of the worst in the UK. I understand the issues we have. We have a heavy industrial area, we have a narrow coastal strip with the M4 driving through it, and they do impact on levels of pollution and particulates, but we need to do more to actually minimise any increase.

I understand the Welsh Government has actually commissioned work by the University of Birmingham and by King’s College London to look at the implications of air quality. Could you make a statement on the outcomes of that research and can you also ensure that the issues about the air quality in Port Talbot can be improved, because we are facing some of the challenges ahead of us?

Again, I’m sorry I don’t have the research information in front of me, but I will write to you.