I welcome the opportunity to discuss this important issue, as poor air quality is one of the biggest public health challenges facing Wales. Last week, the media spoke about all-electric vehicles and not selling petrol cars after 2035. Whilst we all welcome this move, we must ensure that the infrastructure is right, that cars are affordable and that incentives such as scrappage schemes are to be offered to people in the hope that they will convert sooner, as people are 21 times more likely to die from road pollution deaths than road traffic accidents.

Parts of the region I represent, South Wales West, has some of the dirtiest air in the UK. PM10 is often well above the safe daily limit, and schools in my region have had many days when it was double the safe daily limit, and this is totally unacceptable. The Healthy Air Cymru group are calling for new World Health Organization guidelines to be enshrined in legislation as soon as possible. King's College London found that cutting air pollution by even one fifth in the UK's most polluted cities would reduce the number of lung cases by 5 to 7 per cent.

The cause of most poor air quality-related deaths is from legal levels of air pollution. We must, surely, provide a statutory duty on local authorities to appropriately monitor and assess air pollution. King's College London has also found that for children who live near a busy road, air pollution can stunt lung growth by as much as 14 per cent. And living near a busy road can increase the chances of developing lung cancer by as much as 10 per cent.

In Wales, 314,000 people—one in ten—are currently receiving treatment for asthma. Current pollution guidelines are insufficient, with 19 per cent of all cases of childhood asthma in the UK linked to air pollution. Air pollutants are to blame for the deaths of at least five people per day in Wales, with the biggest contributor being transport.

The UK Labour Government incentivised a switch to diesel cars. Due to this, the amount of particulates and nitrogen dioxide in our atmosphere has increased dramatically. Also due to this, many people purchased diesel cars in good faith, only to be later penalised by higher road taxes, with people unable to change due to the current expense of electric vehicles—this must be looked at. Therefore, there must be incentives for people to change, financially. The Welsh Government needs to take action to reduce road-traffic congestion, which, again, amplifies pollution. Our planning system must take into account the effect that new developments will have on traffic congestion, as well as being mindful of electric charging points on new developments.

The Welsh Government must develop a strategy to tackle poor air quality. There needs to be a reporting system to alert residents of poor air quality, and this must be done at a national level and not left to local health boards. New developments, such at the British-made Sentinel-5P satellite, which monitors air pollutants, can be utilised at national level to improve forecasting, and be used to warn the public about such events. The Welsh and UK Governments need to work together and act on this urgently.

I look forward to seeing the Welsh Government's clean air plans, and I hope we can all work together on this matter. Thank you.