The next item is a statement by the Minister for Environment on air quality and I call the Minister, Hannah Blythyn. 

Diolch. I'm committed to action to reduce air pollution in Wales to support a healthier future for our communities, our natural environment and our country. This issue is rightly high on the agenda of Assembly Members and I welcome the cross-party consensus on the need to drive this agenda forward. When I first came to post, I made clear that delivering clean air in Wales is one of my key priorities. Since then, work to address air quality problems in Wales has gathered significant cross-Government support and momentum. I'm committed to building and sustaining this approach.

Our national planning policy document, 'Planning Policy Wales', has been rewritten and restructured around the principles of the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015. The revised document now contains a dedicated section on air quality and soundscape, and this consultation on 'Planning Policy Wales' closes on 18 May.

I will establish the clean air Wales programme to consider evidence and develop and implement actions required across Welsh Government departments and sectors to ensure clean air for Wales. Its immediate aim will be to achieve compliance with existing legislative air quality obligations, but its wider purpose is to reduce the burden of poor air quality on human health and the environment. This can be achieved through planning, infrastructure, regulation and communication measures. If the programme identifies gaps in the necessary levers to make required air quality improvements, I will seek to develop new legislation to address this.

A core component of this programme will be the clean air plan for Wales, which I will publish for consultation by the end of this year. It will set out how we will achieve improvements in air quality and support our well-being goals. It will identify cross-Government and sectoral actions required to achieve clean air in Wales, and highlight communication, engagement and education measures to encourage behavioural change. It will also include actions for strengthening the regulation of emissions from different sectors of industry. Areas such as Port Talbot present particular challenges in relation to the contribution to poor air quality made by industrial pollution. I've instructed an update of our short-term action plan for Port Talbot to ensure we maintain the most effective way of reducing pollution in the region.

Another important aspect of the programme is the development and establishment of the air quality monitoring and assessment centre for Wales in 2019. I informed the Assembly previously that this centre is being established to ensure decisions on tackling airborne pollution are evidence based, and associated actions are prioritised to maximise benefits in terms of public health and well-being.

Our draft clean air zone framework for Wales consultation will be launched tomorrow. A clean air zone is a defined geographical area where a range of actions can be applied with the purpose of significantly reducing public and environmental exposure to airborne pollutants. The framework sets out our principles for the consistent operation of clean air zones in Wales, how they should be established and what they should deliver to improve the health of our communities. We do not currently have any clean air zones in Wales, although local authorities could introduce them to address illegal exceedances of harmful emissions. Where evidence suggests that they could bring about marked health benefits by securing effective reductions in airborne pollution, I would welcome the use of them.

A key component of clean air zones will be a mechanism for managing traffic access to promote reductions in overall traffic levels and limit harm caused to health and the environment by remaining vehicles. This will not be popular, however we must generate behaviour change by encouraging less-harmful modes of travel. The proposed model for Wales requires certain vehicles using the roads to meet the latest Euro emissions standards in order to be able to travel within the boundaries of the clean air zone. This could be introduced through the introduction of access restrictions for the most polluting vehicles, such as bans or charges.

I recognise concerns that access restrictions could hit those least able to upgrade or replace their vehicles the hardest and may find it more difficult to meet any access charges that could be applied. The framework is clear that an economic impact assessment should be undertaken to evaluate potential impacts that may result from any restrictions that will apply within a clean air zone and to determine potential mitigations to limit any negative consequences. Assessment should consider the full potential impact of a proposed clean air zone, and I expect costs and benefits to be carefully weighed. Any action taken to address air quality issues must be proportionate and in line with our well-being of future generations requirements. Access restrictions for vehicles will also need to go hand in hand with access improvements for other, less-polluting modes of transport. The framework promotes a modal shift to public transport and active travel, greatly reducing emissions and road congestion not just within the clean air zone, but in neighbouring roads also.

Effective public engagement and support is central to the success of clean air zones. We will develop communication and engagement measures to raise awareness of the health problems associated with poor air quality to ensure the public is fully informed and understands the reasons for action. With this in mind, tomorrow I will launch the new, improved Air Quality in Wales website, enabling bilingual access for all to air quality information in Wales. It will provide live information on current and forecasted levels of air pollution for their area, as well as access to historical data on air pollution. The new site provides new educational materials, games and tools for schools and improved health advice information.

Tomorrow, we will also publish the consultation on the Welsh Government supplemental plan to the UK plan for tackling roadside nitrogen dioxide concentrations 2017. The plan sets out how the Welsh Government will reduce concentrations of nitrogen dioxide around roads where levels are above legal limits in the shortest possible time.  

Welsh Ministers have accepted that the Welsh section of the 2017 plan did not satisfy the requirements of the ambient air quality directive and associated Welsh regulations during a judicial review earlier this year. This consultation and accompanying plan are published to meet our legal obligations. However, this is not just about legal compliance. It’s about taking action to improve the air quality for everyone in Wales for the health improvements that this will deliver and because it’s the right thing to do. A final compliant plan will be published by 31 July 2018 in accordance with a court undertaking. 

EU directive limits for nitrogen dioxide are currently exceeded in Cardiff and Caerphilly—Hafodyrynys—and at five other locations on the motorway and trunk road network in Wales. Studies are under way to identify measures that are likely to achieve compliance in the shortest possible time. Motorway and trunk road network exceedances are the direct responsibility of the Welsh Government. In advance of completing detailed modelling in the summer, we are introducing modest measures such as temporary 50 mph speed limits and road markings to smooth traffic flows. These will be implemented by the end of June over the stretch of road where nitrogen dioxide levels exceed directive limits at each of the following locations: A494 at Deeside; A483 near Wrexham; M4 between junctions 41 and 42; M4 between junctions 25 and 26 during the night, using the existing variable speed limit infrastructure; and A470 between Upper Boat and Pontypridd. We have established that this action has the possibility of achieving the largest immediate improvement to air quality.

I would like to assure Members that, as a Government, we take this matter very seriously. I am committed to ensuring the delivery of actions identified in the plan to meet our statutory obligations in the soonest time possible. More importantly, this plan is about doing the right thing for our environment and for the health and well-being of our community and country. Finally, I can confirm today the allocation of over £20 million for an air quality fund through to 2021 to help accelerate compliance with nitrogen dioxide limits and improve air quality in Wales. This will be used to provide ongoing support, guidance and finance enabling councils to develop and implement plans and take action to achieve compliance in the soonest possible time. The action I've outlined today is the start of our journey to ensure clean air for Wales, supporting a healthy nation. But this is just the beginning. Our collective ambition must be to become a clean air leader in Wales.

Thank you very much. David Melding.

Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I am pleased that we seem to be moving in the right direction, though we have been slow off the mark. Nearly two years ago we were looking at the Government's outline programme for this Assembly, and I can't remember if there was no reference to air quality or it was just cursory, but they certainly weren't the sort of commitments that we've just heard—that we need to be a leader in developing a clean air environment. So, I do welcome that, but Scotland seemed to be a fair bit ahead of us as they have four clean air zones to be established this year. In fairness, there has been some confusion over the implementation of clean air zones and where the actual power lies, but, now we have clarification to act, I think the Welsh Government needs to move very quickly and, in my view, we need clean air zones in Cardiff, Swansea and Newport, and possibly in other areas.

We need to really be aware of the advantages that these integrated policies to improve air quality can have. You may be aware that, in Berlin, their clean air zone, which was launched in 2008 and expanded in 2010, led to emission reductions that were up to 50 per cent lower than the predicted trend. That does show what we can achieve. So, energy—if that's not an inappropriate imperative at the moment to urge on you—is appropriate to improve our air quality.

Can I say secondly, on the launch of the new Air Quality in Wales website, that that is something that can involve the public and ensure that you get that wider participation? One area Welsh Conservatives have been very concerned about is in the collection of data in the immediate vicinities of our schools and nurseries in Wales. This is an area perhaps we could now look at. If I jump to the air quality monitoring centre for Wales, it seems to me that this can be linked very much to the website, and also the centre could be a key educational source for schools to engage children in initiatives to improve air quality. A project along these lines has been going on in Oxford and has led to some really interesting and encouraging results. And we need that sort of imagination.

On road congestion and restricting the most polluting vehicles, I think we need to progress in this area, but, in our urban areas, obviously, we are to some extent restricted by history and we do not, largely speaking, have public transport systems and a culture of walking more extensively now, and that needs to be changed over time. In this transition, we need to take people with us because some people, at the moment, unfortunately, see no alternative to the car. So, I think public transport systems operating effectively and appropriate traffic restrictions, clean air zones—all these need to be integrated into an approach that sees an improvement in public transport and other active travel networks such as city-centre streets as pedestrian-only areas. We can open up the historic centres of our cities to the people again and not have them restricted, as they often are, by excessive motor transport. So, there are some real possibilities here that would make the environment much, much better.

In terms of another consultation—. There are lots of consultations, and I do hope they will progress speedily. Again, my phrasing is way out. But in terms of reducing nitrogen dioxide concentrations, the impact on ambient air quality here is enormous, and whilst we don't have a compliant plan at the moment, and you want to bring one in by 31 July—obviously it's when that plan gets implemented that it's really going to have an impact on people—I am pleased to see that certain roads are targeted, like the A470 between Upper Boat and Pontypridd in my region, which is the most heavily polluted road in Wales at the moment. But, again, that feeds in, I think, to the points I made about the wider public transport infrastructure problem. So, we've got a lot to do, but I do, insofar as it has been indicated today, welcome the modest progress and I hope that now we see implementation soon.

Thank you. I welcome the Member's contribution, and also, in particular, he came up with a number of important suggestions, which is why, I think, there's such a consensus and this is such an important issue. I would encourage all Members to feed into the plans and the consultation to make sure that we do include, as you rightly say, the importance of taking people with us. That's why we have cross-Government working, and across governments. So, local authorities working with Public Health Wales and the health boards, as well as with the Welsh Government and the UK Government as well. Because, of course, we want to encourage people to have this modal shift, but there's no point doing that unless we're joining up to make sure there's somewhere for them to shift to. And I think you're absolutely right to link the role of digital technology in this and the difference that can make, in terms of the website and with the national assessment and monitoring centre. And I think I mentioned in this place before the role of schools and education, and I think we've talked before about the role for eco-schools and the monitoring projects that some of them will be doing. If they find levels of exceedance near the school, then they can come up with their own plans for how they tackle that, which helps with that educational and behavioural change for them—encouraging the parents and the adults to do the same.

We're looking in terms of clean air zones, and I think Member has mentioned this before, in terms of around schools as well and speed limits. And within the consultation, within the framework for clean air zones, there is the ability, should you wish to, to lower speed limits in certain areas as well.

I appreciate that the statement by the Minister today goes further than just responding to a legislative challenge, but I think it is—and needs to be put on the record—shameful that the Welsh Government has had to reach this point by dint of responding to a High Court case, and it's taken an awful long time because, a year ago now, Plaid Cymru actually sought to amend the public health Bill to put some of these features that are now in the Minister's announcement actually in our legislation. And I think that is the first thing that I'd like to identify as still missing from what the Minister has said today. So, Plaid Cymru are certainly of the view that we, by now, need a clean air Act, in effect, for Wales.

We need to look at how we ban non-hybrid vehicles much earlier than the UK Government intends—2042, I think, is the date there. I'd like to hear what the Welsh Government thinks of that. We need air pollution monitors in our towns and cities, particularly outside schools and hospitals, clear air zones, which have been mentioned, but I think need a legal underpinning, and, of course, empowering of local authorities to issue pollution charges as such and encourage less polluting traffic, whether it be regulations on certain days or to certain areas. Now, these things are hinted at in the statement, but, for example, I don't see how we can have local authorities introducing charging unless we have a legislative underpinning to that and unless this Assembly has taken the overview about how that should work.

So, the first question I really have to ask the Minister is—you know, she does mention that she would seek to develop new legislation if she finds gaps. Well, I would say to her the gaps are there. The gaps are clear and the gaps are there in our failure to deal with this public health problem that is causing 2,000 premature deaths a year in Wales. So, please, can we have a firmer commitment from you to take forward the necessary legislation to underpin what you say in your statement?

The second issue I'd like to raise is one of air quality monitoring. You've talked about an assessment centre for Wales; we of course welcome that development. Are you however convinced that we have the sufficient air quality monitoring at the moment in Wales? My understanding, from corresponding with local authorities, from talking to campaigners, is that many of our so-called monitoring stations are not real-time monitors at all; they take an average over a period of time, even over a month. Many of them outside schools are not, for example, doing real-time monitoring at that drop-off half-past eight to 9 o'clock time when children will be exposed to the very worst pollutants. So, are we really understanding the size of this problem? You mention in your statement where the problems are—certain roads, certain areas. I think it's deeper and I think we see, in asthma and in the respiratory problems we see in our young children, that we have a fundamental problem with this.

So, the second point is: are we going to improve our air quality monitoring, have real-time monitoring, and linked into a website? Again, that's a welcome development, a revamped website, but let's link it in so that people themselves can see, 'If I drive my SUV to my local school instead of walking half a mile, this is the effect I'm going to have'. We need to get that conversation going in Wales.

You're quite right, of course, to say that dealing with air quality, particularly in our towns and cities, may have an unfortunate impact on those who are least able to deal with the costs of trying to find alternative transport and so forth. So, what discussions are you having with your colleagues, particularly Ken Skates, of course, around bus infrastructure? The Bevan Foundation made an interesting proposal a few months ago that, in fact, it wouldn't cost all that much to have free bus transport in our cities, and maybe that would take away from the air pollution things. But some radical thinking is needed, particularly the use of hydrogen now in our towns and cities as a way certainly of improving air quality. You could still have a question around how the energy gets put into hydrogen, but the air quality would certainly be much improved by the use of hydrogen. And banning heavy goods vehicles from particularly our cities and town centres at particular times—. I think it's that juxtaposition of heavy goods vehicles entering our towns and cities at the same time as children are walking to school—and we want them to walk and cycle to school—that is a particular problem. 

The fourth point I'd like to raise is just around where the Welsh Government is taking its other initiatives. I appreciate some of these are not in your direct purview, but we heard the other day that Aston Martin are unlikely, actually, to develop an electric SUV in Wales. It begs the question of what exactly is Aston Martin doing in Wales—are they developing the most modern technology here? TVR, again attracted with Welsh Government money, the £10 million for the automotive centre in Blaenau Gwent—is that looking at electric and hydrogen and post fossil fuel vehicles and transport, or are we using Welsh Government money to prolong the problem that we already have in our towns and cities? I think that needs to be answered as well before we can really understand whether what you've set out today is going to have a real impact. I appreciate you don't directly control those, but the rest of the Government has to come alongside you to make this work. 

And then a final question, if I may, is around the air quality fund, which you've announced today. Again, I welcome that there is a fund available. Just to be clear, is that over two or three financial years? Because, when you say 2018-21, that could be two financial years or three financial years. And how will you actually make that now available, presumably through local authorities—is it a bidding process? Are you going to direct at a strategic national level where this money needs to go, or are we going to see, unfortunately—it could happen—that some authorities will be better placed to bid for it? I would like to see this, in short, being a need-driven formula and a need-driven fund that really deals with those most dreadful parts of Wales that are suffering from air pollution at the moment.

Can I thank you for your number of questions? I know that this is an issue that you are very passionate about and your party is very supportive of taking action on. In terms of—just on the legislative issue, I made it clear in my statement, and I hope I can make it clear again, that it's definitely something under consideration, and that's not to delay it, but that is just because I want to see action now. I think it's certainly something we can look at and consider down the line. I think the Member will appreciate too that the legislative agenda can often be quite full, and to wait for that when we could be taking action probably wouldn't be the most responsible thing to do, but it's definitely something that is on the agenda there. We could, actually, when we go to the second consultation on the plan ask: do people want to see a clean air Act in Wales? If so, what should that do and what do they want to see it achieve?

I hope the Member doesn't drive the SUV to the school—

[Inaudible.]

Thank you for clarifying that. [Laughter.] But you're absolutely right about the importance of—. I go back to what David Melding said about the importance of taking people with us, that we're not bringing things in like reducing speed limits just to—. I think the comments—it would probably be on Facebook or a Facebook forum—would be that it would be to raise revenue from catching people speeding. So, I think the educational part of this and taking people with us is so important, actually, and the role of digital technology again to bring that home, that this is actually because we need to do it for people's health and well-being and to tackle those preventable health issues that we know are linked to air pollution.

You mentioned things like hydrogen vehicles, HGVs. The clean air zones would allow us consideration of that in the round, in terms of actually being able to limit HGV access at certain times and look at that, but that's obviously for each place-based approach—whatever they consider to be best.

You're absolutely right about the importance of working across Government on this, because many of those things that have a big impact on what we're trying to do on air quality are outside the environmental brief, but have such a big impact on our environment, which is why, on our cross-Government commitment to decarbonisation, I am working very closely with the Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Transport in terms of looking at how we use the economic action plan and other initiatives, working with the public transport sector, to reduce harmful emissions from things like taxis and buses by 2025. Our ambition is to achieve carbon-neutral public transport by this date.

First of all, I'd like to welcome the Minister's commitment to take action to reduce air pollution in Wales to support a healthier future for our communities, our natural environment and our country. This issue is very high on my agenda as well, as I am the Assembly Member for Swansea East and we have problems in some of our communities, such as Hafod, where a combination of topography and traffic leads to very poor air quality.

But we've been here before: London in the 1940s and 1950s suffered from smog—a combination of smoke and fog—that was killing people. Action was taken. Today, we know that outdoor pollution is killing people via heart disease and strokes—we know that, and action desperately needs to be taken. I welcome that, in the clean air zones, there are mechanisms for managing traffic access to promote a reduction in overall traffic levels and limit harm caused to health and the environment by the remaining vehicles. This is something that we desperately need in a number of our communities. 

I've got one question, and I think it's almost covered by a 'yes' or a 'no': does this mean that access-only rules for HG vehicles, especially those that are diesel lorries, can be introduced by local authorities?

Thank you, Mike Hedges, for your contribution. I think we raised the issues around Hafod and topography and traffic just last week, around a similar time, in this Chamber. In terms of clean air zones, all that information is contained in the consultation, and it will be the responsibility of the local authorities to look at how they can reduce access of the most harmful vehicles into those clean air zones. But it's also to make sure, as I said in the statement, that it doesn't then—to take into consideration that it doesn't just push the issue of pollution to the perimeter of the zone as well. So, it all needs to be considered as a whole. 

Thanks to the Minister for her statement today, and thanks for the commitment that you've outlined. As David Melding and Simon Thomas have indicated, we have had a bit of a battle to get to this point, but at least there are now some commitments from the Government.

Now, we've had quite a few discussions here in the Chamber on this subject during this Assembly term, and, of course, we all want to see the Welsh Government and the Assembly do their utmost to improve air quality in Wales, which is a big problem in most of our built-up urban areas, the question being: what action will be effective in achieving that aim? Now, a lot of air pollution, I think we all recognise, emanates from roads. One of your proposals today is for temporary 50 mph speed limits on motorways and trunk roads. Just a minor point, but I'd like to point out that you cite the A470 between Upper Boat and Pontypridd as one of the proposed 50 mph zones. Well, from what I'm told by regular users of the route, it's already a 50 mph zone, and has been since roadworks were carried out there some months ago. So, I just wanted to pass that information on. 

But a more important point is that these motorways and trunk roads are the only roads that the Welsh Government manages. The vast majority of roads are under local authority control, and these are the roads with pedestrians on them; you don't get many pedestrians on motorways and major trunk roads. So, of course, what you are going to need to do going forward is have some meaningful interaction with the local councils about how they are dealing with the pollution coming from their roads, and I think this is what we've been discussing, to some extent, today, how you're going to achieve that. I think we need strong guidance from the Welsh Government in this area. I know that you're proposing an air quality fund, which is good, but you may need to accompany it with strong guidance to ensure that the necessary action is implemented effectively. How strongly will you be overseeing the air quality fund as the relevant Minister? 

You say that you want to create clean air zones and restrict admission to these zones by banning certain kinds of polluting vehicles, and I think this is in many ways a fairly obvious step, but, as you recognise yourself, there are going to be major difficulties with this—cultural difficulties as much as anything. To look at the issue more precisely, HGVs have been mentioned by a couple of people. So, one obvious thing is: why have we got HGVs going through residential areas? Should this be allowed? So, that maybe needs to be looked at. But we do have to look at possible repercussions of bringing in these clean air zones, because we have had scientific evidence recently relating to what's happened in London since the congestion zone was brought in 15 years ago. There is recent research that indicates that, in some ways, air quality has actually worsened in London. In particular, the diesel pollution has increased by 20 per cent. This is because of the increased traffic from diesel-powered buses and taxis. 

So, yes, you can look towards public transport, which you're citing here, but you need to look at what are the emissions coming from public transport, I guess is what I'm saying. So, how are you going to monitor the fleets of buses and the licensed taxis that operate through the 22 local authority areas in Wales? Because you're going to need to look at that and assess the pollution elements of that if you are encouraging public transport rather than private vehicle use into these areas. 

But you need to do all of that first, I think, and, once you've got those measures in place—and Simon Thomas has mentioned that extra legislation may be needed—then you've got the big task of the cultural change of persuading people who do drive when they could walk to actually get out of the vehicles and do so. But, of course, at the moment it's kind of a vicious circle, because you can't persuade people to get out of their vehicles and walk to places like the school because the roads are so polluted, why would they want to do that? So, you need to tackle this cycle at some point, so good luck with it and I'm interested to hear your answers. Thank you. 

I thank the Member for his good luck wishes there. To deal with the first thing in terms of the 50 mph temporary speed limit between Upper Boat and Pontypridd, it's from the Upper Boat roundabout on to the A4058 roundabout at Pontypridd; it's exactly 4.2 km. So, some of these areas are actually—particularly the one I'm most familiar with, in Deeside—an extension of perhaps where there might have been existing temporary 50 mph zones before. 

Interaction with local councils: a key part of this is—. We can take action on the trunk roads, but the key part of being able to do this is to offer resources as well as guidance. Clean air zones in major cities like Cardiff are an option with this, and in other places where they may work best and may be a fitting solution to the problems. The plan and the clean air programme will also try to identify, through our monitoring, what is the best solution, what is the action needed in certain places and what best suits those places and what the problem is.

I think one alternative with that, in terms of schools—and you've all raised that today—I think I'd go back to this behavioural change, and this generational shift and bringing the younger generation with us in terms of tackling any pollution and monitoring it around schools and coming up with their own solutions, whether that be behavioural change campaigns such as walking buses, 'no idling' policies outside the school, scootering to school or using bikes. I'm very keen to support the growth of that in terms of making sure that we develop that pester power and actually start—you know, that we take measures now to tackle air pollution and air quality problems right across the country. I think it is really, really key to make sure that we educate the next generation in particular to take this forward in the future.

I welcome this statement and am really pleased that this is coming high up on our agenda. I'm particularly concerned about the effect of air pollution on children, because three of the nine schools in Cardiff that are situated near roads with harmful levels of air pollution are in my constituency of Cardiff North: Ysgol Mynydd Bychan, St Joseph's and Cathays are all around the North Road area. I've got huge concern about the effect on the health of the children in those schools, as well as the children in all the schools in Cardiff. So, I would like to see a lot more effort made to improve the air quality, particularly around the schools. She mentioned in answer to the last question some of the things that can be done in relation to encouraging parents not to use cars—the scootering and the cycling. I wondered if she'd looked at play streets, where streets are closed off for certain hours or days so that children are free of pollution and are able to play.

Would she congratulate Cardiff council on its production of Cardiff's transport and clean air Green Paper, 'Changing how we move around a growing city'? There are many suggestions in there about the way that we could go in Cardiff, recognising that it is an absolute imperative. I wondered if she had had any liaison with Cardiff council about this document. I think what's come up in a few of the questions today is how much local authorities can do by themselves on their own initiative and how much action is needed from Welsh Government. So, I don't know whether she could clarify that now or at a future time so that we know how we're able to work together. Because there are many things in this document that could really transform the quality of air in Cardiff, but as I say, I don't know how much they can do that themselves or how much they need the Welsh Government to help them.   

The last point you made there goes back to how it's absolutely key, if we are going to get where we need to be and where we want to be on this, that we do work collectively and collaboratively on it. I really liked the idea of the play streets. I think I have seen one in Cardiff before on the news in terms of them shutting off the streets and it's definitely something perhaps we could consider looking at going forward. 

Yes, I'm more than happy to congratulate Cardiff council on their transport and clean air paper. I have had meetings with Cardiff council officials and my officials continue to liaise with them. I believe I have another meeting on this issue coming up very shortly, which I'm happy to keep the Member updated on. I have to confess that I've not had a chance to try out the new bikes just yet, so I think maybe for my next meeting at Cathays Park I might try that, now the weather's getting a little bit better. I've now got myself in it putting that on the record, haven't I? 

Thank you very much for your statement. I thought it was very interesting, actually. I just wanted to ask you two or three questions quite quickly. Back in November, you said that you wanted to work across Government and with local authorities and across the board. I just wanted to ask you a little bit about the consultation. At the moment, it looks like it's going to be the usual online consultation, which is fine, but most of the people I know don't live their lives online. Can you just confirm that you will be including—just thinking of Julie's question—individual groups and organisations, and perhaps things like schools and nurseries and care homes directly, rather than through non-governmental organisations? You may have to just take a sample—I appreciate that—but I think some direct evidence from these places would be really helpful on this.

Secondly, you mentioned Port Talbot, which is in my region, and I just wanted to mention that the pollution in Port Talbot doesn't just affect Port Talbot and the Afan valley; it spreads across the whole of Swansea bay. At the same time, we've also got some of the highest traffic pollution. So, can you give me some reassurance that your two approaches to this—in certain parts of Wales where it's appropriate—will be worked upon concurrently or together, rather than as two separate items? Because the cough the morning is the cough in the morning; I don't really care where the cough comes from.

Finally, just on Port Talbot—. Oh, sorry, no, I had another one for you. It's very quick. I've mentioned nowcasters to you before. I'm not going to mention them—except that I just have. It's in the towns that we'll be collecting a lot of the useful information here, and I note that the additional monitoring is going to be done on stretches of A road. Can you explain why you've chosen stretches of A roads, which may be polluted but may not feel as polluted as, actually, as you said, being close to a school? Why have you chosen to prioritise those rather than some hotspots within towns?

Just on that same point, really, on the Port Talbot issue, when junction 41 was closed—I appreciate that it was before you came here—a lot of air quality monitoring was done at that time and revealed, rather to my surprise, that the nitrogen oxide emissions were actually below Welsh Government standards, with one exception. Again, I'm wondering why you've chosen to extend the 50 mph element of the M4. It's not that I object to you doing it, but why have you chosen there when, actually, the nitrogen oxide returns weren't as bad as we probably would have expected? Please do it, though. Thank you.

Thank you. Can I thank Suzy Davies for her questions? I know that you've got a keen interest in this as the regional Assembly Member. The point in terms of the consultation and directly contacting individuals like care homes and schools is a really, really good point, and I'll take that on board and speak to officials about how we can do that.

In terms of Port Talbot, you're absolutely right that there are the two strands there in terms of the impact on air quality, and that's why I'm keen to look at the Port Talbot action plan and actually make sure that it looks at this as a whole. And we need to monitor to see where the infringements are and when they're happening. As well as the steelworks themselves, you actually have all the other industry around it as well. So, you're right that it is a really complex, integrated situation, but there's no point tackling one without the other; we need to address them together to improve air quality in the area.

I'm not entirely sure on the question about the A roads. The ones that I listed in the statement are where we know there are exceedances, and also because they are trunk roads and we have the responsibility or are able to action that as a Welsh Government. But I take on board what she says in terms of town centres. That's why we need to look at the clean air programme and the clean air plan and how we work with local authorities and other organisations to tackle that.

I too think that this is a very important statement today because of the public health issues and also pollution generally and the quality of our environment. I know that the British Heart Foundation have done a lot of research, spending millions of pounds, on the connection between air pollution and heart disease, and they're quite clear that this is a priority for them. Outdoor air pollution contributes to thousands of premature deaths annually, as we heard earlier, and long-term and short-term exposure can make existing heart conditions worse as well as cause new ones and, indeed, is a big stroke risk as well. They see road transport as a key contributor, as we've heard many times already. So, with that sort of background, I share some of the impatience and frustration that we heard about earlier in terms of the length of time it's taking for us to show signs of getting to grips with the magnitude of the issues and the need to take necessary action.

So, I just wonder whether the work that will be undertaken now, Minister, will include cross-references to active travel and integrated transport systems, and whether there might be consideration of a default 20 mph zone in inner urban areas, given that that lends itself to walking and cycling and getting people out of their cars to playing on the streets and creating those more health-friendly and environmentally friendly areas. Perhaps there could be some more specific schemes, such as the one that's been mooted, I think, for quite some time, in terms of LPG conversion for taxi fleets, which, I believe, repay themselves in cost terms over about two years, and do make a significant impact to air pollution in our towns and cities. And similarly with buses and their emissions.

And tree planting, Minister, because I know that it's been shown in some studies that trees can take something like 50 per cent of particulate matter out of the air. I know that there have been successes and failures in tree planting terms in Wales in the past, and sometimes it's about the right sort of trees that don't get bigger than anticipated and don't create problems with the leaves that weren't anticipated, because, quite often, trees have been planted and then, when they've grown to a certain size, they've been uprooted and taken away and not replaced. So, I just wonder, when you talk about the air quality fund of £20 million, the support and guidance, will that be addressing these issues? To what extent will local authorities be guided and to what extent will they have wide discretion?

I thank the Member for his contributions. You're absolutely right about the need to cross-reference in terms of our ambitions and aspirations in terms of active travel. That's why we're only going to progress in this area if we truly work across Government. That's why I've been working very closely with the Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Transport, making sure that there are those alternatives in place and that, when we are planning for the future, we're taking into account our obligations as part of the well-being of future generations Act as well.

In terms of a default 20 mph zone in inner urban areas, I certainly think that local authorities could look at that as part of their clean air zones, but these are all things that we need to look at as part of the air quality monitoring and assessment centre and also as part of the clean air plan and programme that we'll be bringing forward.

On tree planting, you're absolutely right. I think the phrase was, 'The right trees in the right places'—and the role that they can play in terms of carbon capture, as well. I think one of the things to do with that is that the other priority within my portfolio is woodland creation, and yes, we know that, to meet our ambitions on that, we need to create woodland at scale, and that's actually not forgetting that it's not just about woodland creation on scale and in great sizes, but it's about, actually, our urban and peri-urban areas as well, and that's a role for the green infrastructure fund as well.

Thank you. I have got four more speakers and if you look at the time, you'll know that's going to be slightly impossible. I'm happy to run it over, but please can we not have long speeches? If your question or subject has been covered, then perhaps we can think about those questions. Vikki Howells. 

Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. Minister, I note your comments around the direct actions that the Welsh Government can take on the motorway and trunk road network. One of the areas mentioned, the A470 between Pontypridd and Upper Boat, is a key commuter link for my constituency. Lots of residents already raise their concerns with me about congestion in this area, so what monitoring will the Welsh Government do to make sure that measures like temporary 50 mph zones aren’t having a negative impact on commuters?

Secondly, key to your statement is encouraging behaviour change among Welsh citizens, but this requires that we have policies in place to enable less harmful behaviours. That, I would argue, requires a cross-Government approach, for example in terms of improving public transport so that my constituents don’t need to use the A470 to get to Cardiff, or air quality around schools, for example. So, what work are you doing with colleagues to ensure that this cross-Government approach is taken?

The Member is absolutely right in terms of the importance of a cross-Government approach, and there was a wry smile, I think, from colleagues over here when you were talking about if we had that replaced with the alternative, then your constituents wouldn't have to sit in the congestion on the A470. I think I said in previous responses that that's why I'm looking very closely with the Cabinet Secretary responsible for transport at how we can actually not just look at the whole in terms of our active travel—. If we are going to be able to truly tackle the problem of poor air quality, we have to have that in place, so that if we want the behavioural change, people to shift the way they travel and the way they get to work, the way they go out for their leisure, then we need to make sure we've got something for them to shift towards. On the A470—the unintended consequences and how it will be monitored—it will, actually, be closely monitored by roadside testing, and the results will be fed into ongoing investigations and modelling to establish the measures likely to achieve compliance in the shortest possible time. So, that will be able to be closely monitored to see the effectiveness of the measures in the area. 

I'm very pleased to hear that we have cross-party support for this really significant subject, because when the going gets tough—and it will get tough—when we start actually introducing measures, we know that we have people in our own parties, and indeed in the wider community, who are still living in the second half of the twentieth century, and we have to start getting people to realise that air safety is just as important as road safety. Air pollution is killing more people than bad driving via vehicles, and the people who are most at risk are, of course, children with their young lungs. So, I'm very pleased to see that the Minister is launching the clean air zone framework tomorrow, because we absolutely need to get on with doing things rather than talking about them. For example, Tredegarville primary school, which is opposite the Cardiff Royal Infirmary, just off Newport Road—this is an area that I think should become a play street or access-only because it's simply unacceptable the level of pollution we are submitting these children to, and there is an alternative route for vehicles. So, I hope that Cardiff Council is going to be ambitious and courageous, in its action and not just words.

It's more difficult to see what can be done about the children of St Peter's who are actually on Newport Road, but we really need to get across to parents that they're putting their children more at risk by bringing them to school in a car than by walking, cycling or getting the bus. That cannot be repeated too often but it's not something that parents often recognise. I have three questions. [Interruption.] They are literally one-liners. [Laughter.] The Llanedeyrn interchange on the A48 is another hotspot. There are three schools and one nursery near to it. Is that a Cardiff council action that needs to be, or is that a Welsh Government—? It's the A48 interchange with the slip road to the Bay.

Secondly, I would like to see a levy on city-centre car parking. We already have alternatives, which are the—. There are about 1,000 car parking spaces in the city centre of Cardiff, and if we had a levy, we would be encouraging people to do the right thing, which is either come by bus, come by train or do a park and ride. Is that something that is within the purview of the county council?

And, thirdly, will invest-to-save be available to local authorities who want to clean up their buses?

I thank the Member for her questions. I think in terms of things like invest-to-save and the clean air plan and the clean air zones, I think Cardiff council is one of the areas that has been identified that is in exceedance, and as I said to your colleague Julie Morgan, I've been working, and officials have been liaising closely with Cardiff council on that. So, these are all things that can be considered as part of the plan and the programme going forward, and clean air zones. 

I am not a politician who would like to guess and make things up, so on the A48, I'll get clarification on that for you and come back to the Member. I think your first point is absolutely the most important: air quality and tackling it is as important as tackling road safety. And, actually, we have to work across parties, and across layers of Government, and across organisations within the community. As I said before, we're bringing in reducing speed limits, not just to annoy motorists, it's not to raise any charge or anything, it's not to raise revenue, it's actually for a reason, and I think if any authority was going to go down the road of a charge, particularly within the clean air zones, any profit from that we would look to go back into investing in public transport. 

Despite the valued contribution of the Wales health impact assessment support unit to the A494 Queensferry-Ewloe public inquiry in 2007, the lack of teeth given to it led to my giving evidence on air quality to the public inquiry, which the inspector accepted, and which contributed to the successful recommendation that that programme or that proposal at that time should not go ahead. How will you ensure, therefore, that your new air quality monitoring assessment centre for Wales works with the Wales health impact assessment support unit, and has more teeth in circumstances such as that to be able to make direct representations, for example, during public inquiries? 

Secondly, and finally, we heard reference during the business statement to the Caernarfon-Bontnewydd A487 bypass. How can you ensure, or will you ensure that in the Welsh Government's further consideration, referred to earlier, of proposed routes for this bypass, that the black option, which received 75 per cent public support in the consultation in 2011, against just 6 per cent for the yellow option chosen by the Welsh Government—? The black option found that a number of properties with an improvement in air quality would be 2,730 compared to a deterioration of just 192. 

Can I thank my north Wales colleague for his questions and his points there? The air quality monitoring assessment centre for Wales—the formation of the centre is to ensure decisions on tackling pollution are evidence based and that the associated actions are prioritised to maximise public health and well-being, and that does need to be in line with our obligations of the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015. And it goes back to what I said about making sure that we are working cross-Government on these things. Linking into his question on Bontnewydd, air quality has been approved as a priority and it's actually making sure that we all work—. That's why I'm working cross-Government regularly, liaising with officials and at a ministerial level with both the Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Transport and with the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Services. 

Minister, I welcome your statement today, and thank you very much for your personal interest and for the commitment that you have shown personally to ensure that Wales's air quality improves. As you are aware, in my constituency of Islwyn, there are concerns about the impact of air quality on health outcomes also, and I've impressed on you, Minister, the impact that that is having and the concerns of the lower Sirhowy valley residents' group with the potential emissions of nitrogen oxides into the atmosphere, and in an area that is in the top 6 per cent of poor health communities across Wales and the top 1 per cent of cancers. So, with this in mind, and the obvious concerns expressed throughout about the air quality in Hafodyrynys Road near Crumlin, what considerations has the Minister given to working with Caerphilly County Borough Council to ensure Wales's first ever clean air zone? 

I thank the Member for her questions, and I know this is an area that we've had previous discussions about and I'm familiar with your concerns. We know that apart from Cardiff, Caerphilly to Hafodyrynys is the one area within exceedance and has been issued with a directive to actually come in to see us, and officials are working closely with Caerphilly council. The Member will be aware that we're looking at establishing a working group within the area to look at the various concerns of residents and difficulties around particularly Hafodyrynys and the particular exceedances there. That working group will involve NRW, Public Health Wales and also, hopefully, Caerphilly council. I'm happy to keep the Member updated on that as it progresses. 

And finally, Rhun ap Iorwerth. 

Thank you. I'm grateful to you, Dirprwy Lywydd, for allowing me a moment or two, or just a moment perhaps to be more accurate—[Laughter.]—just with a quick word and a question in relation to electric vehicles. We discussed the regulation of vehicles and limiting traffic and bringing in speed limits as if we have no intention of tackling the prevalence of the internal combustion engine. In Norway, in December, the sales of electric vehicles outstripped sales of cars with internal combustion engines for the very first time, and we too should be aiming for that here in Wales.

Now, other EV manufacturers are available, but I am very grateful to Renault UK for lending me an electric vehicle in the next few weeks for me to—including other elements of my work—travel down to the National Assembly, where I'll be plugging into the new charge points here, hopefully, in Cardiff Bay. But can we have an assurance that, rather than lagging behind, as this Government has been doing, unfortunately—you're trying to get on the curve, let alone trying to stay ahead of it—we in Wales will be trying to join the twenty-first century revolution towards using electric vehicles? Because you look at cities like Dundee, where they are streets ahead of us, you look at incentives that can be brought in—how about free parking for people with electric vehicles? How about access to places for people with electric vehicles? Incentivise, make it a proactive mission of this Government to make sure that the internal combustion engine becomes not the favoured choice of people because it becomes a no-brainier for them to choose an EV.

I'm glad that was just one moment—I wouldn't have wanted to have to give you more moments. [Laughter.] Minister.

Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. The Member raises a number of important points there in terms of incentivising people and, actually, the importance of working in parallel that is open to us, tackling poor air quality to reduce emissions, reducing speeds without actually looking at how we use modern technology to support that modal shift in transport and electric vehicles. I look forward to—I'm sure the Member's going to chart his journey on Twitter and social media for us, and I wish him good luck with it.

Thank you, Minister. Thank you.