2. Business Statement and Announcement

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:36 pm on 23 October 2018.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Jenny Rathbone Jenny Rathbone Labour 2:36, 23 October 2018

Two things, leader of the house. One is: I wonder if you would join me in congratulating the National Youth Arts Wales, supported by the Arts Council of Wales, for the absolutely stellar performance on Sunday of the world premiere of Sorrows of the Somme, which was performed by the National Youth Choir of Wales and the National Youth Orchestra of Wales. It was an absolutely outstanding performance that really captured the horror and the death of so many Welsh soldiers at Mametz Wood, and reminded us of the horrors of war and all we need to do prevent it.

Secondly, I wondered if I could ask for a statement on fraud in the recycling of plastic, because we've read in the newspapers, in the last couple of days, that six UK plastic waste exporters have had their licences suspended or cancelled, and the Environment Agency is investigating claims of false exporting of tens of thousands of tonnes of non-existent plastic waste and that the £50 million industry has been penetrated by criminal gangs. Other concerns are that waste isn't being recycled, it's just being left to leak into rivers and oceans across the world, and that repeat offenders in the UK have not had their licences removed. The National Audit Office in England points out that self-reporting invites this level of fraud and error, and the Environment Agency has made only three unannounced visits to accredited reprocessors and exporters in the last year. So, could we have a statement on how well NRW compares with the Environment Agency's inspection record of accredited reprocessors and exporters, what liabilities could the Welsh Government be exposed to in relation to false claims of exporting Welsh plastic waste through UK ports, and what action the Government may need to take to prevent this scandal undermining citizens' confidence in our excellent Welsh recycling records?