4. Statement by the Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs: Clean Air

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:01 pm on 18 June 2019.

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Photo of Huw Irranca-Davies Huw Irranca-Davies Labour 5:01, 18 June 2019

Thank you. I do welcome the statement today, and I only have one question. I note that back in 1854, a young doctor called John Snow, who worked in Soho in London at the height of a cholera epidemic, plotted on a map with dots exactly where the cholera outbreak was going, and using that evidence actually dealt with a cholera outbreak that was linked to one contaminated sewage pipe that was close to a septic tank and so on. We have the evidence clearly now of the catastrophic impact this is having on shortening young lives, on the proximity to schools and other places, so we do need to act. So, I do welcome it today.

My question is as simple as this: I have huge faith in the Minister, in bringing forward her action plan, that it will have the degree of granularity as well as ambition that will help to make the changes we need to avoid this being the cholera epidemic of our age, across the whole of the UK and western society, but here in Wales particularly. But the reason it's been driven so hard over the last decade is because of groups like ClientEarth and others, who have been able to bring actions against UK Government. Andrew R.T. Davies said how well the UK Government is doing—the reason that they've upped their ante is because ClientEarth have now said to them, 'We will take you back and back and back and back to court', and they've upped the ante on a strategy. Can we have that guarantee, going forward, now and in a post-Brexit scenario, that citizens or citizens' organisations can hold Governments to account to ensure, if that Minister was not there, and some Minister lacking the ambition or lacking the ability to deliver wasn't doing it, that citizens could hold Government accountable—take them to court, sue them and force their hand to deal with this epidemic, now, that is right across the UK?