Questions Without Notice from Party Spokespeople

Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Climate Change – in the Senedd at 1:48 pm on 6 October 2021.

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Photo of Julie James Julie James Labour 1:48, 6 October 2021

So, again, I think the conclusion you're coming to is a bit of a stretch from the set of facts that you're presenting, basically. So, as I said in my first answer, I'll just reiterate it: there are, of course, a number of players that affect the watercourses and water quality across Wales. They go from every single one of us to our communities, to our industries, to the people who use the water, and who discharge it into our river systems. That includes, of course, the water companies, but it also includes farmers and agri-businesses, and everybody must play their part. Everybody must reduce their emissions, everybody has to go ahead with a greener, cleaner way of using our watercourses, or we will not get them back into good conservation order and increase our biodiversity and, indeed, our water quality.

So, of course, we will need to work together, and, as I said, we're undertaking a review of where the regulation sits, where the delivery sits, whether it's in exactly the right place, whether it's effective, whether it's not effective, and how we can increase both our regulation and our delivery partners' ability to improve our watercourses. So, we're all trying to get to the same place. But it's not a question of pointing a finger of blame, everyone must do their part and that absolutely does include the farmers.