I welcome the opportunity to discuss this important topic and thank the Welsh Conservatives for bringing forward this debate. As I've highlighted many times, poor air quality is one of the biggest public health challenges facing Wales. This is particularly true in the region I represent and live in, South Wales West, which has some of the dirtiest air quality in the UK. PM10s are often well above the safe daily limit; at several schools in my region, we have had many days in the last few months where they were double the safe daily limit.

Air pollutants are to blame for the deaths of at least five people per day in Wales and the biggest contributor to air pollution is transport. Since the UK Labour Government incentivised the switch to diesel, the number of particulates and nitrogen dioxide in our atmosphere increased dramatically. The current UK Government recognised the folly of this policy and have introduced a new vehicle tax system to penalise the most polluting vehicles. They have also introduced a new scrappage scheme designed to get old polluting vehicles off the road, and made a commitment to move to an all-electric vehicle future by phasing out all fossil-fuelled engines by 2040.

I welcome these moves. These moves by the UK Government need to be backed up by the action of the Welsh Government. The Welsh Government has been taken to court for its lack of action on tackling air pollution. It’s high time they fulfilled their duties to the Welsh public. They can start by taking action to reduce traffic congestion, which amplifies the effect of traffic pollution. They have introduced 50 mph speed limits on the M4 near my home, yet there is little to no evidence that it will help improve air quality. All this has done is to increase traffic congestion. I would like to see the Welsh Government ensuring that the planning system takes account of the effect new developments will have on traffic congestion.

I have said all along that air pollution is a public health issue and that the Welsh Government must develop a strategy to tackle poor air quality at a national level—