Questions now from the party spokespeople. The Conservative spokesperson, Janet Finch-Saunders. 

Diolch, Llywydd. Minister, it is a fact that people on the lowest incomes in Wales are breathing in the most polluted air. Friends of the Earth have found that, in Wales, income-deprived areas disproportionately have the worst air pollution, and people of colour are 2.5 times more likely to live in an area with high particulate pollution, and five times more likely to live in a nitrogen oxide-polluted neighbourhood. Clearly, inaction by this Welsh Government is harming our black, our Asian, our minority ethnic communities and the poorest in society the most. Indeed, Joseph Carter, very well known to us here in the Chamber because of the work that he's done as chair of Healthy Air Cymru, was spot on when he said,

'This new research is shocking but not surprising.'

Even the First Minister knew of the seriousness of air pollution when he pledged in his 2018 Labour leadership manifesto to develop a new clean air Act. However, Minister, over three and a half years later, even you were unable to inform our climate change committee just last week whether the clean air legislation is drafted to the extent where it could be brought forward, if the First Minister decides. Now, whilst I would be pleased to understand whether or not you support the First Minister's delaying of clean air legislation, I would also be grateful if you could clarify why the consultation outcome of the White Paper on a clean air (Wales) Bill, which ended on 7 April, 2021—

You have three questions, Janet Finch-Saunders, and you're way over in your first question. So, please come to a question. 

—14 months ago, still has not been published.

Okay. Thank you. 

Well, I think that was five questions, actually. [Laughter.]

No, just the one question. Tell us why the report's not been—

Well, which one would you like me to answer, Janet?

The clean air—why the paper hasn't been published.

Okay, that's very straightforward. I'm pleased to say that we published on 7 June the engagement plan, which will help us with the information that we need in order to bring forward the clean air Act. 

Now that's an excellent way to do it—ask a short question, Janet, as you did towards the end and you get a short answer. 

That's the beauty of spokespersons' questions—we do have some leverage. 

No. I think I'd move quickly on if I was you, Janet. 

The repeated delays by this Welsh Government are a mess, and if you don't believe me, listen to Haf Elgar, vice-chair of Healthy Air Cymru and director of Friends of the Earth Cymru, who states, 

'If Wales wants to be a fair and just nation, as well as a green one, we must clean up our act now.'

Wales Environment Link and Healthy Air Cymru have stated that Wales needs access to environmental justice. Their letter to the Welsh Government highlights that, in Wales, 1,600 people die each year due to air pollution, only a fraction of our best nature sites on land and sea are in good condition, and that continued delays in passing laws to protect and improve our environment undermines people's right to environmental justice. What greater warning do 20 organisations and all members of WEL need to give you before you listen to our calls for you to take environmental justice seriously, put robust legislation in place to drive nature recovery, as well as the tools to hold your own Government to account?

So, once again, it's very fine words and absolutely no action from you. So, we have done a number of things already on the clean air (Wales) Bill, which we'll introduce in this Senedd term. It's one of a number of actions set out in the clean air plan for Wales, 'Healthy Air, Healthy Wales', which we are taking to improve air quality. The action taken includes, of course, the Welsh transport strategy, 'Llwybr Newydd', and the roads review, and the stopping of building of roads all over Wales, which increases both the emissions and the particulates. And you don't like those bits. The robust action that we do take, you're unable to support in any way. So, fine words, no action, once again, from the Tory benches. 

It's fair to say that if the Welsh Conservatives were in Government and had your levers, then we'd actually be using them.

Now, despite England and Northern Ireland having the Office for Environmental Protection, Scotland having environmental standards, here in Wales we are still relying on temporary arrangements that WEL and Healthy Air Cymru have described as lacking legal powers, public strategy, and an easily navigable webiste. However, even more concerning is that the interim environmental protection assessor for Wales's annual report highlights, and I quote:

'One key issue identified during the review has been that demand for the service has been significantly higher than originally expected.'

Minister, in light of this, we have been working to put in place more robust processes to ensure that we are targeting our resources at issues where we can add the most value. In light of the high demand for assistance with environmental law, will you fast-track the process of establishing a permanent body?

So, Janet, again, once more, how many times have I got to say the same thing? We are absolutely committed to putting an environmental protection body in place. The interim environmental protection plan is working; it's actually highlighting how many people want their issues looked at, and in a much shorter timescale than was ever possible before. As you well know, we are working with the deep dive on biodiversity to put the standards in place that will have the targets that will hold our feet to the fire. Having a badge that says, 'I don't know what I want, but I want it now' is all very well, but it's actually important to have targets that mean something and that will actually push the thing forward, and not just, once more, a set of empty words.  

Plaid Cymru spokesperson, Delyth Jewell. 

Thank you, Llywydd. I'd like to highlight the contribution of fibre broadband as we move towards net zero and a sustainable future. The Welsh Government has set a target of 30 per cent of the workforce working from home, or close to home, regularly by 2030. What's apparent is that we need a broadband network that provides simpler, more reliable working experiences from our homes, community hubs and so on. Recent research by the Institute of Welsh Affairs has highlighted exactly how upgrading the full fibre network would support decarbonisation, either by reusing existing ducts and telegraph poles, or because new technologies emit 80 per cent less carbon even before factoring in the use of zero-carbon energies. So, Minister, what is the role of effective fibre broadband in the Government's broader strategy to achieve zero carbon emissions by 2050 or sooner? 

Diolch, Delyth. I completely agree; a digital strategy is absolutely essential to doing that. You're absolutely right; we are committed to having at least 30 per cent of people working from home or near home—so, much less commuting time and hopefully much less polluting commuting type. In order to do that, of course, we have to provide them with facilities to be able to do that, both digitally and in an office environment. We are looking, as you know, at community hubs in various places in Wales to enable that to happen, and, actually, the social part of that is a big deal as well, because people can become isolated at home.

The Deputy Minister for Climate Change, Lee Waters, recently outlined in the Chamber the fact that we've changed slightly our digital strategy for Wales, having had a very successful roll-out of Broadband Cymru, because actually this isn't a devolved area. We've intervened, because otherwise the UK Government would not have, and we would have had a large number of premises without any reliable broadband. But, recently, we've had another look at that, and we've had some success in getting the UK Government to look again at its strategy. They've just introduced a number of promises, which we hope will come to fruition, and we've been reusing some of our money. Very recently, in answer to a question from Rhun, I think it was, Lee Waters announced the work with Bangor University, for example, which is a really interesting new innovation that may well bring much better connectivity to people across Wales. 

So, we broadly agree. We continue to put pressure on the UK Government, and we are targeting our own money much more specifically at premises—the white premises, as they're called—with no connectivity at all, rather than upgrading people who have connectivity to full fibre with our money, because we think that the UK Government should step up to its responsibilities and do that. 

Thank you for that, Minister. For my second and final question, I'd like to turn to deforestation and supply chains. At COP26, you said that you were determined to change the Welsh Government procurement policy to ensure that we're promoting supply chains that are fair, that are ethical and that are sustainable. I welcome that. That would not only reduce Wales's global footprint, it would also support local economies. We have an opportunity to become a leader in this place, following, or rather joining, pioneers like France and the state of California, which have introduced procurement policies to end deforestation and tackle climate change. Minister, there is evidence as well that the public are supportive of these actions. A recent WWF Cymru survey of rural Welsh communities found that 84 per cent of respondents agreed that public services that provide and sell food, like schools and hospitals, should not buy food from sources where it can contribute to nature loss and climate change both in Wales and overseas. So, could you tell us, Minister, what progress has been made to introduce deforestation-free targets, risk assessments and due diligence processes in public sector procurement practices, please?

Yes, certainly, Delyth. Procurement is actually in Rebecca Evans's portfolio, but obviously I work very, very closely with Rebecca. She has recently announced a number of research issues into procurement, one of which is absolutely making sure that Wales does not use up more of the world's resources than is our fair share. Part of that is to make sure, when buying products or having supply chains here that rely on products that necessarily mean deforestation in other parts of the world, that we look to replace those products in the supply chain and assist the countries to come away from the practices that they have to reforestation. 

We're very proud of our work in Africa, in Uganda, in Mbale, with the trees that we plant—one tree there, one tree here, for every child born in Wales. It's always worth reminding people of that. We're very proud of the reforestation that we've been able to do. I've promised to work with Size of Wales on a project that allows both the public sector and, as far as possible, the private sector in Wales to understand what its supply chains look like and to make sure that products that necessarily incur deforestation across the world are removed from those supply chains as fast as possible.