Diolch. I'm returning to this question of an independent inquiry into flooding for a second time in just over a month, and I make no apologies for that. After the devastating floods in February 2020 and the flash floods that followed on later in the year, there are still homes in Rhondda Cynon Taf where people are waiting for them to be restored. Aside from some of the more concerning land movements, the Rhondda was largely, thankfully, unaffected by the heavy rain last week, but I know that many other people in other parts of RCT were not as lucky, and my heart goes out to each and every single person who has been affected by flooding across Wales and beyond. All of this demonstrates that our country is vulnerable to flooding. It also demonstrates that the current system is not protecting our citizens or our communities. We are in a climate crisis. There is now a greater likelihood of extreme weather patterns becoming more regular. We don't know how this worse weather will combine with our coal tips and our underground mine workings, and we need to know, and we need to know that urgently.

When we last debated this, I didn't get answers to my questions, and so this time I'll keep it simple. I have one question for the Government. If Labour MPs from Rhondda Cynon Taf are calling for an inquiry into flooding in England, how can you oppose one here in Wales when you have the power to instigate one? Help me and the thousands of people who signed a petition calling for this independent flood inquiry to understand your reasoning in this. We know from Labour's leaked internal document that you understand that your approach to dealing with flood risk has not been good enough. The manifesto consultation document recognises the, and I quote, 'need for investment and policy change to build greater resilience to intense weather events of the kind we have seen in 2020.' This chimes with the advice from insurers, who urge the Welsh Government to spend more on building and maintaining flood defences, increase the use of flood resilience measures within properties, and change the planning system to prevent developments in flood-risk areas.

Tree planting has to be a key component in flood prevention. People in the Rhondda understand only too well that tree felling has had an impact. They believe that the felling of trees and the failure to remove the brash and the debris is why their homes were flooded. Replanting these trees would help tackle climate change, protect biodiversity and protect people from flooding, and there's no argument about how important tree planting is. Yet this Government's dismal record on meeting its own targets for tree planting is asking for trouble. Your target to plant 5,000 hectares of new woodland every year until 2030 was dropped to 2,000 hectares. Even this less ambitious target could not be met. In recent years, you've averaged around 300 hectares a year, and, in the 12 months up to March of last year, the effort was even worse, at 80 hectares planted. This is abysmal. 

We cannot ignore the impact of our industrial past on flooding. Last week's events in Skewen showed how we are still paying the price for heavy industry long after the profits and the jobs have gone. The same can be said about the fear felt in our communities every time one of our coal tips moves. Right across Wales, we have former mines, ironworks and other remnants of heavy industry that have to be taken into account when addressing the impact of flooding and futureproofing our communities. But who is looking at all of this in a joined-up way, and who is listening to the people who are affected by all of this? 

These are all things that can be analysed and further looked at in an independent public inquiry. We have to have an independent inquiry to look at what went wrong, to understand who is accountable and, most importantly, to see what needs to be done to put things right in RCT and elsewhere. Please reject both of the 'delete all' amendments. Join Plaid Cymru and the many thousands of people in Rhondda Cynon Taf who have called for an independent inquiry into last year's flooding. They really deserve it.