1. Following the recent High Court hearing, what legal advice has the Counsel General prepared for the Welsh Government to rectify its unlawful inaction on air pollution? OAQ51706

I thank the Member for her question. I fully support the Welsh Government's commitment to improving air quality across Wales and its various initiatives for tackling air pollution specifically. The Member will be aware, as she says, of the recent High Court litigation, which was heard on 25 January and in relation to which judgment is awaited. The Welsh Government has accepted that its proposals did not comply with the statutory duties and is taking immediate action to address this.

I welcome the fact the Welsh Government has taken the bull by the horns and has admitted that we have illegal inaction in this regard, which is more than the UK Government has done. My understanding is that the QC acting on the Welsh Government's behalf, Jonathan Moffett, said that the Welsh Government was going to be working with ClientEarth obviously to rectify this unlawful inaction. I wondered if you could tell us a bit more about the level of urgency required to ensure that you don't end up in the High Court again. Obviously, I have a wealth of ideas on how we could be tackling this as a matter of urgency, but it would be good to know if we're going to get consulted. How is this urgent action going to occur?

The Member's questions involve a number of points of policy, which it would be inappropriate for me to comment on specifically, but in relation to how this was dealt with in the court action, which may answer part of her question, because of the Welsh Government's acceptance that the 2017 plan did not comply with its duties, it made that representation in court, and so the discussions between ClientEarth and the Government relate to the terms of the consent Order, which embodies the Welsh Government's representations to the court. It told the court that those parts of the 2017 plan that fell within devolved competence were not compliant and that, at the time of the plan, it didn't have the available information to model exactly what steps would have the required outcomes.

The Government has said that a supplemental air quality plan will be consulted on very shortly, with a view to that being implemented or brought into effect later this year. There are some areas that are within Welsh Government control and some areas that are within the control of Cardiff city council and Caerphilly borough council, and there are discussions ongoing with those two authorities at the moment in relation to specific steps to tackle the problem.

Clearly, from what you've just said, Counsel General, it's very important for the citizens of Wales to have this access to the High Court and to justice in general to hold the Welsh Government to account with regard to air pollution, and hopefully to see the improvement following these legal processes. Now, as we exit the European Union, there are several of these environmental issues where we are deficient, if you ask me, because at present the citizens of Wales have access not just to the High Court but also to the European Court of Justice, and there are several important environmental cases that are being taken through those processes, which ensure that citizens have their rights—their rights to a clean environment—and that those rights are safeguarded by the legal processes. What steps is the Welsh Government taking to ensure that this right that's just been outlined in these legal cases is maintained in Wales as we leave the European Union?

As the Member has already said, a number of the rights protecting the environment emanate from European legislation. Welsh Government have stated clearly that we wish to see those regulations continuing to be relevant in Wales and for those rights to come here to the Assembly and not be reserved to Westminster. So, we wish to ensure that people have the right to secure those standards for Wales.