Flooding in the Rhondda

Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs – in the Senedd at 1:37 pm on 18 November 2020.

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Photo of Leanne Wood Leanne Wood Plaid Cymru 1:37, 18 November 2020

In the last month, your Government's Natural Resources Wales have published reports into this year's floods, and my interest is clearly in the Rhondda. Few people were surprised to find out that NRW found no blame in themselves in those reports. The closest it got to an admission of liability was when it said that it was underfunded to respond to the magnitude of February's events, something that I hope that you've heard and considered very carefully, Minister. Now, it is clear to me, and to many others who signed a petition, that only an independent inquiry will get to the bottom of what happened and will come up with lasting solutions that will take account of the climate crisis, and that is the best chance that we have of preventing this kind of thing happening to communities here in the Rhondda again. The Labour position in Westminster earlier this year was to support an inquiry into floods in communities in England. Why is an inquiry like this not good enough for people here in Wales? Will you now back an independent inquiry? Or will you explain to people in the Rhondda what you are scared such an inquiry might reveal?