Part of 2. 1. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs – in the Senedd at 1:59 pm on 24 May 2017.
As you say, we need to do some significant work around this and you will have heard me say it’s absolutely a priority for me. You know we’ve recently had a consultation and I have to say the consultation was, in general, supportive of the action that we’re taking. We reaffirm the importance of reducing public exposure to air pollution by making the average concentration of nitrogen dioxide at dwellings one of Wales’s national well-being and public health outcomes framework indicators, so that’s an area where you can hold us to account. I’ve committed to issue a new air quality policy guidance to local authorities next month, and that will recognise schools and active travel routes, amongst others, as sensitive receptor locations. And local authorities have to take a risk-based approach to where they site their monitors, but I think it’s really important that they take that into consideration also. We’re also going to be issuing some guidance to support health and public health professionals in NHS Wales, because I think we need to work very closely with the staff of NHS Wales regarding that and I think they need to communicate the public health risks of poor air quality to the public and other agencies. I’m also looking to have an awareness-raising campaign on air quality, going forward.