In the air quality debate on 5 December I set out the range of actions that the Welsh Government is taking to deliver improvements to air quality in Wales. During this debate I made clear the actions essential for the health and well-being of our communities and our environment.

The Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2018 will implement the medium combustion plant directive, helping to tackle the air quality challenge by extending and strengthening our existing controls on the emission of polluting substances to the atmosphere from combustion plant. Medium combustion plant between 1 MW thermal and 50 MW thermal in capacity are used for a wide variety of applications. These include generating heat for large buildings such as offices, hotels, hospitals and schools, and providing heat and steam for industrial processes and generating electricity.

The Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2018 will give effect to the directive's upper limits on emissions of nitrate oxides, sulphur dioxide and particulate matter to the atmosphere from medium combustion plant. These are key atmospheric pollutants. Plant over 20 MW thermal capacity are already subject to environmental controls under our environmental permitting regime, including the requirement that best available techniques are applied to prevent pollution and that no significant pollution is caused. These controls remain in place alongside the newly implemented requirements of the medium combustion plant directive.

The regulations will also introduce targeted additional controls to tackle pollution from combustion plant below 50 MW thermal that are used to generate electricity. Over recent years we have seen significant growth in the numbers of diesel-burning combustion plant used to generate electricity during short periods of high demand. These plant can produce over six times as much nitrogen oxides as the gas-burning alternatives. The controls that will be introduced by the regulations are needed to ensure that these electricity generating plant do not impact on air quality and public health.

The regulations will require operators of effective plant to obtain an environmental permit from Natural Resources Wales. The permits will specify the detailed operating requirements necessary to ensure the protection of air quality, including emission limit values of key pollutants, monitoring requirements and reporting obligations. These requirements will be administered and enforced by Natural Resources Wales for the lifetime of each permit, and the costs associated with permit issue and compliance checking will be met by the operator under existing cost recovery provisions for environmental permitting.

I seek your support today for the implementation of the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2018. The directive obligations these regulations will introduce, and the targeted additional controls on electricity generating plant, will make an important contribution to improving air quality and public health in line with the Welsh Government's well-being goals and the national strategy, 'Prosperity for All'.