1. Will the First Minister make a statement on the action taken to prevent flooding in South Wales Central following the 2020 floods? OQ56563

Thank you, Presiding Officer. Since February 2020, the Welsh Government has invested over £12 million in flood risk management across South Wales Central. This includes over £3 million for emergency repairs. The creation of a Minister for Climate Change illustrates our determination to play Wales's part in the long-term risks of flooding.

Thank you, First Minister, for outlining that support. In terms of those affected, be that in terms of their homes or businesses, although they're grateful for the funding and support, they still haven't had the answers that they need in terms of what happened and why, and whether there was anything that could have been done differently to prevent this destructive flooding. If we truly want to learn the necessary lessons of these flooding events and provide support to those affected, isn't it now time for us to commission an independent inquiry as a matter of urgency into all recent flooding events throughout Wales so that Government investment is rightly targeted rather than being reactive as it is at the moment?

Well, the previous Senedd had the opportunity to hear the case for an independent inquiry, and the previous Senedd didn't agree with that and I don't agree with that now either. The local authorities have been focusing on the practical things that they can do to respond to everything that has happened since the floods. Local authority reports are still being prepared. Julie James has a meeting tomorrow with the leader of Rhondda Cynon Taf council to discuss the report on Pentre.

The Law Commission will tomorrow publish a document—we asked them to put together that document—which talks about future law and how we can do more to safeguard communities that have suffered as a result of floods and the impact of floods too. So, as a Government, we are focusing on investment, the practical steps that we can take to improve the situation for people, and we don't agree that we should allocate funding and time and take people out of that work to do things to respond to an independent report that we don't think would be of great assistance to local people.

First Minister, Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council has not met its joint housing land availability study targets for a number of years, and, as a result, this has seen a glut of speculative applications being submitted for the council to consider, with many of these previously being rejected for inclusion within its local development plan. Among these applications have been several for residential developments either on or near floodplains, with Ystrad Barwig Farm proposals in Llantwit Fardre being a particular stand-out application, as it's proposed for development on a C2 floodplain, which is one of the worst classifications for a floodplain. Despite it being contrary to 'Planning Policy Wales' and technical advice note 15, Rhondda Cynon Taf council approved this application twice, only for the Welsh Government to intervene and refuse permission on each occasion. With this in mind, what steps will the Welsh Government take to reinforce the message that vulnerable developments should not be built on or near floodplains? Thank you.

Llywydd, I thank the Member for that supplementary question, and he's right that the Welsh Government has strengthened the actions that we have taken and the advice that we provide to prevent developments on vulnerable land and land that could be vulnerable to flooding in the future. We know that the nature of climate change is such that incidents of extreme weather on the topography of south Wales does make us more vulnerable to flooding today than we were in the past. And it is right, therefore, that the standards that we expect when planning permission is being given for residential development take that fully into account. Of course we communicate that directly in the many meetings we have with our local authorities, and I imagine that there is no more powerful way of communicating that message than when Welsh Ministers do call in planning applications and take a different view to that which the local authority had originally concluded.

First Minister, we are seeing flooding events more often now throughout the south Wales Valleys, where the intensity of rainfall and the storms and the narrow valleys overwhelm rivers and erode roadsides and bridges and also affect homes. However, we can do more by planting more trees on the valley sides, by building attenuation ponds to slow down the flow of water, and to ensure that every area has a water catchment management plan that is effective. First Minister, how do we bring residents and landowners together in order to prepare water catchment management plans, and what percentage of the south Wales Valleys is captured under such plans at the moment?

Llywydd, thank you very much to Huw Irranca-Davies for that question. I agree with what he said at the beginning, and what I said—when the Law Commission publishes its report tomorrow, people will be able to see the figures in that report, which draw attention to the impact that flooding has had in the Valleys during the past two decades. And the report draws upon information about the latest situation, to help us to plan for the future. Llywydd, I have seen the plans that are available in the Brecon area to plant more in order to be of assistance, and, as Huw Irranca-Davies said, to install attenuation ponds.

I don't have the actual figure for the final question the Member asked me about—the proportion of south Wales Valleys covered by a water catchment management plan, Llywydd. I do know that the local flood risk management strategies, which are a requirement of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010, mean that every local community has a chance to be involved in the drafting of those strategies and a greater say in local risk management decisions. That's how we think we can get an effective approach to water catchment management, enabling communities, businesses and the public sector to work together, much in the way that Huw Irranca-Davies was suggesting.