Chapter 2 – Other provision.Promoting awareness
Section 10 - Promoting awareness about air pollution
50.This section places a duty on the Welsh Ministers to take steps to promote awareness in Wales of the risks to human health and the natural environment caused by air pollution and ways of reducing or limiting air pollution.
51.Examples of ways in which the Welsh Ministers might discharge their duty might include: by encouraging, supporting and promoting local initiatives about air pollution; or by improving the provision of air pollution resources for health professionals and reviewing current information on the sources of air pollution and the health and environmental impacts, taking into account accessibility and requirements of different groups.
Promoting active travel
Section 11 – Promoting active travel as a way of reducing or limiting air pollution
52.This section inserts three new sections, 10A, 10B and 10C, into the Active Travel (Wales) Act 2013 (anaw. 7) to create duties for the Welsh Ministers and local authorities to promote active travel as a way of reducing or limiting air pollution. These Explanatory Notes refer to the Active Travel (Wales) Act 2013 as “the 2013 Act”.
53.New section 10A of the 2013 Act sets out the Welsh Ministers’ duties in relation to promoting active travel. Subsection (1) places a duty on the Welsh Ministers to take steps to promote active travel as a way of reducing or limiting air pollution in Wales.
54.Subsections (2) and (3) require the Welsh Ministers to publish a statement about the steps they propose to take in the performance of their duty under subsection (1) as soon as possible after the coming into force of section 10A and to keep the statement under review.
55.Subsection (4) provides that the Welsh Ministers may revise the statement at any time and must publish the statement in its revised form.
56.Subsection (5) requires the Welsh Ministers to publish a report as soon as reasonably practicable after the end of each reporting period (as defined in subsection (6)) specifying the steps they have taken in the performance of their duty under subsection (1). The Welsh Ministers may also publish additional reports (see subsection (7)).
57.Subsection (6) explains that the “reporting period” is the period of 3 years beginning with the day on which section 10A comes into force and each subsequent period of 3 years.
58.New section 10B of the 2013 Act makes provision for the promotion by local and other authorities of active travel as a way of reducing or limiting air pollution.
59.Subsection (1) places a duty on local authorities to take steps to promote active travel as a way of reducing or limiting air pollution in their areas.
60.Subsection (2) provides that when a local authority submits an integrated network map to the Welsh Ministers under section 4(9)(c) of the 2013 Act, it must also publish a report specifying the steps it has taken in performance of its duty under subsection (1) during the period beginning with the coming into force of subsection (1) and ending with the submission of the map or, in the case of subsequent reports, the period since it last published a report under this subsection.
61.Subsection (3) provides that the Welsh Ministers may by regulations impose the duties to take steps to promote active travel as a way of reducing or limiting air pollution and to publish reports on the steps taken on any public authority specified in the regulations.
62.Subsection (4) provides that regulations under subsection (3) may only specify a public authority if it is a “devolved Welsh authority” within the meaning of section 157A(1)(a) of the Government of Wales Act 2006 (c. 32). Under subsection (5) the Welsh Ministers must consult an authority before specifying it in regulations made under subsection (3).
63.Subsections (6) and (7) make provision for the affirmative resolution procedure of Senedd Cymru to apply to regulations made under subsection (3) and for the power to make such regulations to include a power to make transitional or saving provision.
64.New section 10C of the 2013 Act makes provision in relation to guidance to be given to local and other authorities about their functions under new section 10B.
65.Subsections (1) and (2) place duties on the Welsh Ministers to give guidance to local authorities about the authorities’ performance of their duties under section 10B and to give guidance to any public authority specified in regulations made under section 10B(3) about the authority’s performance of its duties under the regulations.
66.Under subsection (3), before giving or revising guidance under section 10C, the Welsh Ministers must consult the authority or authorities to which the guidance relates and any other persons the Welsh Ministers consider appropriate.
67.Subsection (4) places a duty on any authority to which guidance is given under section 10C to have regard to it in performing its duties under section 10B or, as the case may be, under regulations made under section 10B.
National air quality strategy
68.Section 80 of the Environment Act 1995(1) requires the publication of a national air quality strategy.
69.Section 80(4A) of the Environment Act 1995 sets out when the national air quality strategy must be reviewed and, if appropriate, modified.
70.It provides that the strategy must, in effect, be reviewed by 1 May 2023 and, subsequently, within each period of 5 years beginning with the day on which the most recent review was completed.
Section 12 - Power to change review period for strategy
71.Subsection (1) inserts new subsection (8) into section 80 of the 1995 Act. It gives the Welsh Ministers a new regulation making power to amend the review period for the national air quality strategy set out in section 80(4A) of that Act.
72.Subsection (2) amends section 87 of the 1995 Act (regulations for the purpose of Part 4) so that any regulations made under the new power in section 80(8) of the 1995 Act are subject to the affirmative resolution procedure of Senedd Cymru.
Section 13 - Consultation on review of strategy
73.This section amends section 80 of the 1995 Act by disapplying the consultation and publication requirements in respect of the national air quality strategy in subsections (6) and (7) in relation to Wales and replacing them with new requirements in new subsection (10).
74.New subsection (10) provides that when reviewing the national air quality strategy, the Welsh Ministers must consult with the Natural Resources Body for Wales, every local authority in Wales, every Local Health Board established under section 11 of the National Health Service (Wales) Act 2006 (c. 42), every National Health Service trust established under section 18 of the National Health Service (Wales) Act 2006, every public services board (within the meaning of Part 4 of the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 (anaw. 2)), the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales, Transport for Wales and the public.
Section 14 - Duty to have regard to strategy
75.Subsection (1) inserts new section 81B into the 1995 Act.
76.Subsection (1) of section 81B requires Welsh local authorities and relevant Welsh public authorities to have regard to the policies published by the Welsh Ministers in the national air quality strategy under section 80 of the 1995 Act when exercising any function of a public nature that could affect the quality of air in Wales.
77.Under subsections (2) and (3) of section 81B, a person is a “relevant Welsh public authority” if they have been designated as such by regulations made by the Welsh Ministers.
78.However, the Welsh Ministers may only designate a person as a “relevant Welsh public authority” if they meet the definition of “devolved Welsh authority” in section 157A(1)(a) of the Government of Wales Act 2006. This means a person can only be designated if they are a public authority (i) whose functions are exercisable only in relation to Wales, and (ii) are wholly or mainly functions that do not relate to reserved matters. Public authority is defined in section 157(A)(8) of the Government of Wales Act 2006 as “a body, office or holder of an office that has functions of a public nature”.
79.Subsection (4) of section 81B provides that before making regulations under subsection (3) of section 81B, the Welsh Ministers must consult the person who is proposed to be designated as a “relevant Welsh public authority” and such other persons as the Welsh Ministers consider appropriate.
80.Section 14(2) amends section 87(2) of the 1995 Act (regulations for the purposes of Part 4) to add references to “relevant Welsh public authority” where appropriate in that subsection.
81.Section 14(3) amends section 88 of the 1995 Act (guidance for the purposes of Part 4). It inserts new subsections (4) and (5) into section 88. New subsection (4) provides the Welsh Ministers with the power to issue guidance to relevant Welsh public authorities in relation to the discharge of any duties placed on them by virtue of section 81B of the 1995 Act or regulations made by the Welsh Ministers under Part 4 of that Act. New subsection (5) places a duty on relevant Welsh public authorities to have regard to guidance published by Welsh Ministers under new subsection (4) when exercising any powers or discharging any duties to which the guidance relates.
82.Subsection (4) amends section 91 of the 1995 Act (interpretation of Part 4) to add a reference to relevant Welsh public authority, stating it has the meaning set out in section 81B(2).
Air quality regulations
Section 15 - Consultation on air quality regulations
83.Section 87 of the 1995 Act contains general provisions that apply to regulations that are made for the purposes of Part 4 of that Act.
84.Section 15 of this Act inserts new subsections (7A) and (7B) into section 87 of the 1995 Act. These have the effect of disapplying the consultation requirements in subsection (7) in relation to Wales and replacing them with new requirements.
85.These requirements provide that before making regulations under Part 4 of the 1995 Act, the Welsh Ministers must consult: the Natural Resources Body for Wales; every local authority in Wales; the Public Health Wales National Health Service Trust; every Local Health Board established under section 11 of the National Health Service (Wales) Act 2006 and the public.
Local air quality management
86.Under Part 4 of the 1995 Act, local authorities in Wales are responsible for managing air quality at local level, through the Local Air Quality Management process (LAQM). The LAQM process requires local authorities to periodically review and assess air quality in their area, and to designate air quality management areas and produce action plans for those areas where air quality is found to be at risk of exceeding pollutant standards and objectives.
87.Section 82 of the 1995 Act makes provision for every local authority in Wales to conduct a review of the quality, and the likely future quality within the relevant period, of air within the authority's area. Where a local authority carries out such a review, it must also make an assessment of whether air quality standards and objectives are being achieved or are likely to be achieved within the relevant period within the authority's area.
88.Following an air quality review, if it appears that any air quality standards or objectives are not being achieved or are not likely to be achieved within the period prescribed in regulations, the local authority must designate any part of its area in which those standards are not being achieved, as an air quality management area or “designated area”.
Section 16 - Local authority air quality reviews
89.Section 16 inserts a new subsection (1A) into section 82 of the 1995 Act. The effect of this new subsection is to require every local authority in Wales to conduct an air quality review every calendar year, rather than from time to time.
Section 17 - Action plans in relation to air quality management areas
90.Section 17 inserts a new section 83B into the 1995 Act. This section applies in relation to local authorities in Wales, and in part re-enacts section 84 of the 1995 Act (duties of Scottish and Welsh local authorities in relation to designated areas) which is disapplied in relation to Welsh local authorities by section 17(2) of the Act.
91.New section 83B(2) requires a local authority to prepare an action plan in relation to a designated area and send a copy to the Welsh Ministers for approval. Section 83B(8) provides that the plan does not take effect unless it is approved by the Welsh Ministers.
92.Section 83B(3) requires an action plan to set out how the local authority will exercise its functions to secure that air quality standards and objectives are achieved in the area covered by the plan, and to specify, in relation to each standard and objective, a date by which the local authority will aim to achieve that standard or objective.
93.Section 83B(4) provides that an action plan must also set out how the local authority intends to exercise its functions to secure that air quality standards and objectives are maintained once they have been achieved in the area to which the plan relates. Section 83B(5) provides that an action plan must specify the particular measures to be taken to secure the achievement, and maintenance, of air quality standards and objectives in the area covered by the plan, and specify a date by which each measure will be carried out.
94.Section 83B(6) provides that a local authority may prepare revisions to an action plan at any time. However, the authority must revise an action plan if it considers that further or different measures need to be taken in order to achieve the air quality standards and objectives identified in the plan by the date set under section 83B(3)(b) and in order to maintain those standards and objectives in the area covered by the plan.
95.If an action plan is revised, section 83B(7) provides that the local authority must send copies of the revisions to the Welsh Ministers for approval. Under section 83B(8), the revision to the plan does not take effect unless it is approved by the Welsh Ministers.
Section 18 - Welsh Ministers’ powers of direction
96.Section 18 amends section 85 of the 1995 Act. Section 85(3) sets out the circumstances in which the Welsh Ministers may give a direction to a local authority to take the steps contained in the direction.
97.Section 18 inserts new paragraphs (e) and (f) into section 85(3). New section 85(3)(e) means that if a local authority in Wales has failed to carry out a measure specified in an action plan by the date specified in the plan in relation to that measure, the Welsh Ministers can direct the local authority to take specified steps. New section 85(3)(f) means that if an air quality standard or objective has not been achieved, within a designated area in Wales, by the date specified in the action plan as the date by which the standard or objective is expected to be achieved, the Welsh Ministers can, again, direct the relevant local authority to take specified steps.
Smoke control
Section 19 – Regulation of smoke and fuel in smoke control areas
98.Section 19 inserts new sections 19E – 19H into Part 3 of the Clean Air Act 1993(2) (c. 11) (referred to as “
99.Section 18 of the 1993 Act enables a local authority to make a smoke control order declaring the whole or any part of its area a smoke control area. Under section 19 of the 1993 Act, the Welsh Ministers can, in certain circumstances, direct a local authority in Wales to exercise its powers to create a smoke control area.
100.New section 19E of the 1993 Act applies Schedule 1A to the 1993 Act to Wales so that the unauthorised emission of smoke in a smoke control area attracts a civil penalty. Part 1 of Schedule 1 to the Act makes further amendments to Schedule 1A to the 1993 Act for this purpose. The criminal offences in section 20 of the 1993 Act are repealed in relation to Wales (see paragraph 12 of Schedule 1 to the Act).
101.New section 19F(1)(a)-(c) of the 1993 Act makes it an offence to acquire any solid fuel for use in a building, fireplace, fixed boiler or industrial plant to which a smoke control order in Wales applies. These offences do not apply to authorised fuels. Under new section 19G(3), the Welsh Minsters may keep a list of authorised fuels and where they do so, they must publish it.
102.The offence in section 19F(1)(b) does not apply if, at the time the solid fuel is acquired, the fireplace in question is on the list of exempt fireplaces published by the Welsh Minsters under new section 19G(1). The Welsh Ministers can only include a fireplace on the list if they are satisfied that the fireplace can, if used in compliance with any conditions specified in the list, be used for burning unauthorised solid fuel without producing any smoke or a substantial quantity of smoke.
103.New section 19F(1)(d) of the 1993 Act makes it an offence to sell unauthorised fuel for delivery to a building to which a smoke control order in Wales applies or to premises with a fixed boiler or industrial plant to which a smoke control order in Wales applies. No offence is committed if the person selling the fuel can establish one of the defences in section 19F(5).
104.The offence in new section 19F(1)(d) of the 1993 Act does not apply to authorised fuels.
105.Under new section 19H(1)(b) of the 1993 Act, the Welsh Minsters can suspend or relax the operation of the offences in section 19F(1)(a)-(d) in relation to the whole or part of a particular smoke control area in Wales. They can only do so if it appears necessary or expedient to do so and they have first consulted the local authority that declared the smoke control area in question (unless consultation is impracticable due to urgency).
106.Under section 19H(1)(a), the Welsh Ministers can also suspend or relax the operation of Schedule 1A to the 1993 Act in relation to the whole or part of a smoke control area in Wales. They can only do so if it appears necessary or expedient to do so and they must first consult the local authority that declared the smoke control area in question (unless consultation is impracticable due to urgency).
Section 20 – Guidance for local authorities in relation to smoke control areas
107.This section amends the 1993 Act to insert a new section 28B which requires local authorities in Wales to have regard to any guidance published by the Welsh Ministers about the exercise of the local authority’s functions under Part 3 of the 1993 Act.
Section 21 - Further provision relating to smoke control
108.This section introduces Schedule 1 to the Act, which makes further provision in relation to smoke control.
Functions of the Secretary of State under Part IV of the Environment Act 1995 (c. 25) were transferred in relation to Wales to the National Assembly for Wales by virtue of article 2 of and Schedule 1 to the National Assembly for Wales (Transfer of Functions) Order 1999 (S.I. 1999/672). These functions were transferred to the Welsh Ministers by virtue of section 162 of and paragraph 30 of Schedule 11 to the Government of Wales Act 2006 (c.32)Back [1]
Functions of the Secretary of State under Part 3 of the Clean Air Act 1993 (c. 11) were transferred in relation to Wales to the National Assembly for Wales by virtue of article 2 of and Schedule 1 to the National Assembly for Wales (Transfer of Functions) Order 1999 (S.I. 1999/672). These functions were transferred to the Welsh Ministers by virtue of section 162 of and paragraph 30 of Schedule 11 to the Government of Wales Act 2006 (c. 32)Back [2]
