3. Statement by the Minister for Environment: Air Quality

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:18 pm on 24 April 2018.

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Photo of Suzy Davies Suzy Davies Conservative 3:18, 24 April 2018

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.