6. Will the Minister outline what the Welsh Government is doing to support people affected by the recent flooding in Cynon Valley? OAQ55152

Thank you. Welsh Government has a number of schemes in place to support people affected by the recent flooding across Wales, including the discretionary assistance fund for individuals, and a business support package. We're also supporting local authorities through the emergency financial assistance scheme.

Thank you, Minister. I welcome the Welsh Government's statement that was published today announcing £2.5 million support for businesses affected by flooding. That will certainly be of some comfort to the estimated 450 businesses that have been affected throughout Rhondda Cynon Taf.

Now, I know that you are aware, Minister, of the statistics that have been published by the Royal Meteorological Society this week, suggesting that the south Wales Valleys will see an estimated 50 per cent increase in rainfall over the next 10 years due to climate change. So, I'm very interested in the work that NRW might possibly be able to do to militate against the worst effects of this. Three key issues have been raised with me repeatedly by constituents who were among the estimated 750 homes affected in RCT. The first is replanting of trees, and I note your answers to other Members in this Chamber today on that.

The second one is dredging, and many constituents feel really passionately, knowing their communities, that rivers have been dredged very thoroughly in past years, but that, over the recent 10 or 20 years this approach has fallen out of favour. So, I'd be interested in your views on this and the message that I can convey to my constituents on that.

And the last one is about staffing. Again, I note your comments to other Members on this, but I'm talking about boots on the ground, really—people who can clear debris, keep rivers free-flowing. And even in this time of austerity, would it be possible for the Welsh Government to consider increasing the numbers of those types of staff working for NRW so that replanting of trees and keeping our channels free of debris could be prioritised?

Thank you. On the specific three points you raised, just to add, really, to previous answers around tree planting, I know that NRW's board have approved an umbrella woodland creation programme, and what I've asked them to do is really move ahead with that implementation and look at the areas where that can be expedited.

In relation to staff recruitment, and clearly you're talking about, as you say, boots on the ground, I mean, it's something I'm very happy to raise with NRW. We do talk about staffing, but we tend to talk about—. I mentioned flood engineers and making sure that they have their full quota of that. But that's certainly something I will raise with them.

And in relation to dredging, obviously NRW and local authorities are undertaking watercourse maintenance—clearing those obstructions, managing the vegetation, removing sedimentation, for instance. Large-scale dredging of river channels, I'm informed, is not an effective solution to reduce flooding, and what really concerned me was that it can actually make matters worse. So, I think, in the extreme weather that we've seen, for example, the volume of water far exceeds what the river channel can hold, irrespective of dredging works. But I think it's certainly something that we need to look at very carefully because, clearly, we wouldn't want to make matters worse.

Minister, I wonder if you could provide an update on the flood disaster relief funding for Wales that was promised by the UK Prime Minister when he said in Parliament a week ago that the UK Government are

'committed to working flat out with the Welsh devolved administration to ensure everybody gets the flood relief that they need. And that cash, yes of course will certainly be passported through'.

Have you had any cash passported through to you?

Not that I'm aware of.

You do have to have the demand first, before you pass the cash on, and I don't think a demand's gone forward.

But if I could ask my question, the point I would like to ask is: we had the all-party group on woodland and forestry yesterday, and various Members challenged some of the experts around the table as to why there isn't greater woodland planting in some of the upland areas. The response that came back was that some of the rules and regulations around the management of those upland areas make it prohibitive, if not impossible, to plant woodland on those areas. Would you concur with that evidence that was put before us yesterday, and if you don't, will you actively encourage greater woodland plantations in the uplands, which could help alleviate some of the flooding further down by greater absorption further upstream?

It's something I have been actively encouraging, and, certainly, as we've been scoping the national forest, which you will be aware was the First Minister's manifesto commitment, over the last year, it's something that we've certainly been, as I say, actively encouraging and looking at.

Thank you very much, Minister.