Diolch, Llywydd. The petition we are debating this afternoon collected 6,017 signatures and calls for an independent inquiry to be held into the terrible flooding earlier this year. This petition was submitted by Councillor Heledd Fychan, who represents the Pontypridd Town ward on Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council.

February 2020 saw some of Wales’s worst flooding on record. On 16 and 17 February, Storm Dennis caused widespread floods, reportedly impacting more than 1,000 homes and businesses in Rhondda Cynon Taf alone. Sadly, it was not an isolated event because the area experienced further flooding at the end of February and again in June.

Now, as a Member myself who represents a constituency that has also been badly hit by flooding in recent times, I have every sympathy for people whose homes and businesses have been affected by these now very frequent events, and a similar personal desire to help to prevent similar incidents in future.

Now, when we discussed the petition, the members of the Petitions Committee were moved by the heartbreaking personal stories that we received, which really helped to bring home the huge personal impact that incidents such as these have. Of course, a member of our committee, my colleague, Leanne Wood MS, has been directly involved in supporting her constituents who have been affected by these tragic events. I'm also aware that Mick Antoniw, alongside Alex Davies-Jones MP, have also recently published their own report into the impact of the flooding, demonstrating that these are cross-party matters that need addressing.

The petition calls for a full, independent, open and public inquiry into the flooding. It argues that this is necessary in order to ensure that appropriate steps are taken so that similar damage can be prevented in the future. In response, the Minister wrote to the Petitions Committee to say that she does not feel that an independent inquiry is required at this stage. The Minister told us that it is the responsibility of the local flood risk management authority to produce section 19 flood investigation reports following any incidents of flooding. She outlined the investigatory work already being carried out by Natural Resources Wales and Rhondda Cynon Taf council to assess the causes of the floods and to make recommendations for how flood risk can be reduced. I understand that the Welsh Government's position is therefore that it wishes to consider the statutory reports before deciding whether any further inquiry or review is required. So, I do hope that the Minister today will be able to expand on this position later on in this debate.

As I referred to earlier, the Petitions Committee has also received further comments from the petitioners, including a large number of personal testimonials gathered from local residents. These detail both the personal and the economic costs being borne by the people and businesses directly. Other Members will, I am sure, wish to cover the impact of the floods on their constituents. Therefore, I will use the rest of these remarks to refer to a few of the main points outlined by the petitioners.

Firstly, the petitioner argues that the section 19 report process has significant limitations. These include effectively asking local authorities to investigate themselves, given the important role that they play in local flood prevention, and because there are limited opportunities for local people to be part of those processes. Secondly, the petitioners believe that a broader perspective should be taken. They consider that an independent inquiry would be able to consider wider issues and lessons, including the declaration of a climate emergency, and the impact that these events have had on both the local economy and the health and well-being of residents. Overall, the petitioners question whether the existing reports referred to by the Minister have enough and sufficient scope to explore these issues fully, and to inform flood prevention work both in these communities and indeed across the whole of Wales.

In concluding these opening remarks, the Petitions Committee is now looking forward to hearing the contributions of other Members affected by flooding during this debate, and will return to consider the petition further in light of them. The petitioners have been very clear in their view that an independent review or inquiry is the only way to learn the lessons that will certainly help to prevent these types of flooding incidents from happening again, and to provide the reassurance that communities in Rhondda Cynon Taf not only need, but they deserve. I hope that the Minister will be able to provide further explanations this afternoon in response to this point and others that are raised during the debate. I welcome all the contributions that other Members wish to make. Diolch, Llywydd.