Motion NDM6989 Darren Millar

To propose that the National Assembly for Wales:

1. Notes the Welsh Government’s decision to merge the Countryside Council for Wales, Environment Agency Wales, and the Forestry Commission Wales with the formation of Natural Resources Wales (NRW) in 2013.

2. Recognises the hard work of frontline staff in the organisation but acknowledges their dissatisfaction and lack of confidence in the decisions taken by senior management, as regularly expressed in staff surveys since NRW’s inception.

3. Regrets that NRW has systematically failed the people of Wales through a number of high-profile scandals, including:

a) serious failings in the handling of timber contracts which auditors, Grant Thornton, stated were so bad they 'heightened exposure to the risk of fraud';

b) the 'qualification' of the organisation’s accounts by the Wales Audit Office for three years running, indicating that there were questions over whether the organisation had acted within the rules;

c) the contradictory approach led by NRW when deciding to intervene on matters of public interest such as shooting on public land and nuclear mud dumping.

4. Calls on the Welsh Government to instigate an independent review/inquiry into the organisation’s failings and to investigate alternative proposals for the management of the natural resources of Wales.