Motion NDM7133 Darren Millar

To propose that the National Assembly for Wales:

1. Notes that Wales has some of the worst air quality in the UK and that some areas have breached EU regulations for several years, culminating in the Welsh Government being taken to court for its lack of action.

2. Regrets that around 2,000 people die early each year (6 per cent of all deaths in Wales) as a result of poor air quality.

3. Further notes that air pollution exacerbates existing lung conditions and is a cause of asthma and lung cancer, and that long-term impacts of poor air quality are not yet fully understood.

4. Calls on this Assembly to pass and enact a clean air bill in this Assembly term before the next Assembly elections. 

5. Believes that the act should:

a) enshrine in law World Health Organisation air quality guidelines; 

b) mandate the Welsh Government to produce a statutory air quality strategy every five years; 

c) provide a statutory duty on local authorities to appropriately monitor and assess air pollution, and take action against it; 

d) introduce a ‘right to breathe’ whereby local authorities are obliged to inform vulnerable groups when certain levels breach recommended guidance.