AQW 26176/17-22

Miss Rachel Woods
Green Party
North Down

Tabled Date: 22/11/2021
Answered On Date: 02/12/2021
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs for an update on a Clean Air Strategy for Northern Ireland.

Answer:

Work is underway within my Department to develop Northern Ireland’s first Clean Air Strategy. A twelve-week public consultation on the Clean Air Strategy Discussion Document ran from November 2020 to February 2021. This consultation sought views on a wide variety of matters relating to air quality. It did not set out policy options or indicate a particular policy position.

Following the period of public discussion, responses were reviewed. Officials have now completed analysis of these comments and an initial synopsis of responses has been drafted. Preliminary analysis, recommendations and actions will be presented to me, in the coming weeks. Once I have considered the options and decided on a policy direction, officials shall engage with other Departments this autumn to develop preferred options and policy positions more fully.

Officials will then begin to draft the first Clean Air Strategy for Northern Ireland. This will be a more focused and shorter document than the Discussion Document and will contain proposals relating to policy and other measures which can improve air quality. This draft Clean Air Strategy will be subject to an additional public consultation and due to the cross-cutting nature of the policy area, Executive approval will also be sought at that time. It is hoped that this consultation will launch in spring 2022.

It is also worth noting that some issues raised in the Clean Air Strategy discussion document are also being considered as part of the Department for the Economy’s new Energy Strategy. A draft Energy Strategy policy options consultation was issued on 31 March and closed on 2 July, with the new Energy Strategy to be published by the end of 2021. It is important for the Clean Air Strategy and Energy Strategy to be developed in tandem to ensure consistency of policies.