Next week Members will debate the Climate Change, Environment and Infrastructure Committee’s report following its annual scrutiny of Natural Resources Wales (NRW). Here are some key pointers ahead of the debate:
- The Committee focused its scrutiny on three main areas: NRW’s governance structures; its budget pressures and management; and a number of topical issues including biodiversity challenges, agricultural pollution and tree planting.
- On governance structures, the Committee recommended NRW continue developing Service Level Agreements (SLAs) for all areas of work. These have recently been developed for key areas, and are used to define what NRW is able to deliver for the money allocated from the Welsh Government.
- The two recommendations regarding SLAs were rejected by the Welsh Government, and NRW said it will now focus on developing ‘multi-year plans’ instead of SLAs.
- On budget pressures, the Committee acknowledged that NRW “faces a significant funding shortfall, exacerbated by rising costs and grant-in-aid allocations that do not match inflation”.
- The Committee’s recommendations focused on minimising negative impacts, maintaining services and engaging with stakeholders about restructuring decisions. Further details of NRW’s service reductions and restructuring have since been reported in the media.
- On biodiversity, the Committee expressed concern that NRW’s current staffing and resource levels are inadequate to meet its goals. The Welsh Government response points to NRW’s “critical review” of its service delivery, and the recently published proposals for a ‘Nature Bill’, expected this Senedd term.
- The Committee is also concerned about the new approach to controlling agricultural pollution, including the “significant disagreement” among stakeholders, the allocation of adequate resources for monitoring and enforcement, and the transparency of a forthcoming statutory review.
You can tune in to the debate live on Senedd TV next Wednesday 2 October.
Article by Lorna Scurlock, Senedd Research, Welsh Parliament
