Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs – in the Senedd at 1:47 pm on 10 March 2021.
Diolch, Llywydd. Firstly, Minister, as this is the last spokespersons' questions of this term, I just wanted to thank you. We've had some lively and robust scrutiny and challenge and just to thank you for your answers along the way. Thank you, Lesley.
Now, according to the White Paper on the clean air (Wales) Bill, we may not see regulations set until spring 2024—that would be a quarter of a century into the life of this Welsh Parliament, despite the First Minister telling this Chamber in May 2019 that the debate had been ongoing for a decade, that he had already at that point had discussions with you and that at that time, preparation inside the Welsh Government had begun about how a clean air Act might be developed. Almost two years on, this Welsh Government has failed to deliver on the First Minister's leadership promise—and I quote—to
'Develop a new Clean Air Act to ensure that our children can go to school, be active and play outside safely without fear of respiratory problems, such as asthma, because of pollution levels in some of our towns and cities.'
In September 2019, you told this Chamber that you were continuing to make progress towards the introduction of a clean air Act for Wales. Do you now regret some of the Welsh Government's failure during this Senedd to deliver this Act or even a draft Bill and full regulatory impact assessment? Thank you.