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).
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]
