Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:40 pm on 21 May 2019.
Well, clearly, First Minister, emissions are not falling fast enough, and it is doubtful if your Government will actually meet the target of a 27 per cent reduction by 2020, given that, so far, only a 14 per cent reduction has been achieved. Now, since 2014, the estimated number of deaths in Wales, according to Public Health Wales, relating to air pollution has actually increased from 1,320 in 2014 to more than 2,000 in 2017. In a recent debate, the former Minister for environment stated that in order to fill the gaps in legislation, the possibility of a clean air Act was actually on the table. Now, Professor Lewis from Swansea University indicated that the collection of air pollution information is inconsistent and more needs to be done to ensure that the data collected is accurate and representative of the whole of Wales, because missing out on vital data can lead to areas being overlooked and forgotten. Given the seriousness of the situation, do you agree, First Minister, that it is time now to bring forward a clean air Act, standardise data collection and bring an end to this public health crisis?