Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs – in the Senedd at 2:09 pm on 16 September 2020.
Well, thank you for that response, but in dealing with casework recently I came to realise that 90 per cent of Welsh rivers do not have the gauges to measure water flow in those rivers. Now, that's the data that's being used to produce these maps across Wales, and it's those maps, of course, that are the basis for a number of planning decisions in all parts of Wales and a number of decisions as to whether people can access insurance for their homes or their businesses. But if the original data isn't robust or, for many parts of Wales, simply isn't available, then there's a risk that those far-reaching decisions are made on an erroneous basis.
Now, are you confident, therefore—and that's my question—are you confident, with the flow of 90 per cent of Wales's rivers not being monitored, that there is adequate data to create reliable flood maps in Wales? And if you are not, then what are you doing to tackle that situation? Because, with such a lack of data, the risk is that what we see NRW doing, essentially, is to put a finger in the air.