Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the World Health Organization's Air Quality Guidelines, whether his Department plans to introduce a Clean Air Bill.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Last year, the Government launched a rapid review of the Environmental Improvement Plan, to revise our plan for significantly improving the environment, including for air quality. We plan to develop a new, statutory plan to protect and restore our natural environment with delivery information to help meet each of our ambitious Environment Act targets.

We are considering the World Health Organization's guidelines as part of an evidence-led process for considering future targets, however we are clear that these guidelines are not ready-made targets for direct adoption as they do not consider achievability or individual countries’ circumstances.

The Government does not currently have plans for a new Clean Air Act and is instead focusing on developing a series of interventions to ensure everyone’s exposure to air pollution is reduced.

Found: committed to its own Welsh Environmental Principles and Governance Bill21 and has sought views on a Clean Air Bill

Found: Given the possibility of a Clean Air Bill being brought forward in the Sixth Senedd, it is unclear what

Found: privilege to review this Bill and its application to Wales, we look forward to the new Welsh Clean Air Bill

Found: completing the analysis of the consultation responses in relation to the White Paper proposals for a Clean Air Bill

Found: ban or restrict the sale of some of the most commonly littered single-use plastics in Wales; a clean air Bill

Found: The Minister said the Welsh Government was “still working on” its clean air Bill.17 Our view We have

Found: possible delays to legislation on environmental governance, nature recovery targets and the Clean Air Bill

Found: The First Minister stated a 8 Clean Air Bill would be introduced to build on work already underway

Found: The First Minister stated a Clean Air Bill would be introduced to build on work already underway to

Found: and Child Health expressed disappointment the Welsh Government had chosen not to introduce the Clean Air Bill

Found: There are no significant capital costs associated with the draft provisions of the Clean Air Bill as

Found: The Welsh Government has a long-standing commitment to introducing a Clean Air Bill.

Found: 2021 and the Welsh Government’s 2021 to 2026 Programme for Government commits to introduing a Clean Air Bill

Found: suggested that several of the provisions for England could usefully be replicated in a future Welsh Clean Air Bill