4. To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to tackle air pollution. (S5O-00492)

The cleaner air for Scotland strategy sets out a series of actions for Government, Transport Scotland, local authorities and others to further reduce air pollution across Scotland. Financial and other support is provided to local authorities to assist them with monitoring and implementing local actions to improve air quality. The recent budget identified an additional £1 million to support that priority work.

As the Cabinet secretary will be aware, we have made quite a lot of progress in cutting carbon emissions from electricity generation but very little progress in cutting carbon emissions from cars and from transport more generally. What infrastructure is required to make a step change? For instance, do we need more charging points, or incentives for people to clean up their vehicles?

Quite a lot of activity goes on at local authority level in particular, because it is primarily councils that deal with local air-quality management issues. I am sure that Rhoda Grant will have noticed that the Minister for Transport and the Islands is sitting next to me; he may want to contribute specific thoughts to the discussion. We work closely with Transport Scotland, and there are on-going discussions about the possible introduction of a low-emissions zone, or zones. Again, that would be done—as such things always must be done—in partnership with local government. I hope that we will be able to fulfil the manifesto commitment to have that in place by—when is it?

It is 2018.

Right. We hope to have it in place by 2018. Such action is best taken at the more local level ideally, because different kinds of management will be required to make the policy work, rather than trying to implement it across the whole of Scotland.

Can the Cabinet secretary give details of how air pollution in Scotland compares with air pollution in the rest of the United Kingdom and Europe?

Air quality in Scotland compares relatively well with air quality in the rest of the UK and Europe. We comply with European Union requirements on fine particulate matter—other than in respect of some issues around Hope Street in Glasgow. That can be compared to the situation in Paris and other French cities, for example, where emergency measures have been introduced as a result of such levels. The situation is often replicated in cities, especially in central and southern Europe. The monitor in Glasgow is intended only to measure the worst-case scenario and is not representative of normal public exposure. In general and in particular, we seem to be doing relatively well in comparison with the rest of Europe.