We now move to the short debate, and I call on Janet Finch-Saunders to speak to the topic that she has chosen.

Can I remind Members, if they're leaving, to do so quietly?

Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. I have agreed to give Laura Jones, Samuel Kurtz and James Evans each a minute of my time.

'Emerging from Winter', a moving poem published this month by Taylor Edmonds and the people and children of the Conwy valley, serves as a powerful reminder of the suffering caused by extensive flooding. It reads:

'In our flood plain town / there are things we've had to accept: / we’ll be dragged from our beds / at 3AM to fill sandbags. We’ll build barricades, / a ring of wet faces under torch light. / Boys will stand guard on each estate, / texting updates as fields transform to open water, / gathering waves. We’ll become isolated; / our roads grow currents, dislodged train tracks, / hang from trees like rope bridges. / We’ll pull together, as we have before. / A valley of people constructing defences, / writing letters, checking on neighbours, / calling on leaders to act.'

So, I think you'd agree with me those are lovely words, but very sad in their meaning, by the children of Ysgol Bro Gwydir, Llanrwst, who are calling on us to act so that not all is lost.

Now, for years since I became a Member in this place, I have done my best in championing the cause of reducing the flood risk in the Conwy valley. But I've seen other Members too, in their constituencies, really desperate when they've seen their communities under lots of water. I have locally held two public meetings, published four reports and secured positive change, such as emergency works at Y Berllan, Perthi and additional culverts under the Conwy valley railway line. However, those are only small measures that an elected politician can do. Our community lacks a clear plan, because Welsh Government simply refuses to facilitate independent inquiries into significant flooding events. And it is not just Aberconwy.

Five thousand seven hundred and forty-three people have signed a petition, urging the Welsh Government to initiate a full, independent, open and public inquiry into the 2020 flooding of homes and businesses across Rhondda Cynon Taf. I agree and believe that there should be a duty for the Welsh Government to facilitate such independent inquiries.

It is unjust, and it's actually not effective to only rely on section 19 flood investigation reports. Residents of Pentre in my constituency had to wait until July 2021 to see a report in relation to storm events that occurred in February 2020—17 months. Similarly, residents of Llanrwst had to wait eight months to see a section 19 flood report, and such statutory documents provide key recommendations. Delays in compilation and publication should be addressed by imposing statutory time limits, putting an end to the current situation that provides local authorities with unlimited time. Last week, Sophie Howe, our future generations commissioner stated:

'With flooding occurring more and more often, we need a plan to ensure the financial burden doesn’t fall on those least able to pay – and an agreed Wales-wide approach to ensuring public services are able to respond in the right way. 

'The Well-being of Future Generations Act says that by law, the way we get to net zero has to improve well-being as a whole, for everyone. 

'Public bodies and decision-makers must take action now to stop those affected by the devastating effects of climate change being disadvantaged for generations.'

I agree wholeheartedly with those sentiments, and I do call across the new Members in particular, but all Members in this Senedd, to work cross party on this issue.

An estimated 245,000 properties in Wales are at risk of flooding. According to Climate Central, communities around Wales are predicted to be below the annual flood level by the end of this decade. Queensferry, Flint, Prestatyn, Rhyl, Kinmel Bay, Rhos-on-Sea,  Llandudno, Llanfairfechan, Bangor, Beaumaris, Holyhead, Pwllheli, Porthmadog, Barmouth, Aberdyfi, Aberystwyth, Aberaeron, Fishguard, Pembroke, Llanelli, Swansea, Port Talbot, Cardiff, including this Senedd, Newport, and Chepstow are all at risk.

The Flood and Water Management Act 2010 places a duty on the Welsh Government to produce a national strategy on flood and coastal erosion, and on NRW to report to Welsh Ministers on progress implementing the strategy. According to the latest version, NRW is to manage flooding from main rivers, their reservoirs and the sea. So, ask yourselves: is it in the best interest of Wales for an organisation that has such diverse responsibilities, such as regulating industries, responding to 9,000 planning applications annually, and managing 7 per cent of Wales's land area, to also have such a major role on managing floods? I think not, and I reiterate my calls for a separate national flood agency. When you speak to NRW and senior management, they say themselves that, to be an effective flood agency, it would take at least another 70 employees, and that was two years ago. So, this would be a single body dedicated to tackling flooding incidents across Wales. I genuinely believe that NRW staff do try their best, but they are simply becoming overwhelmed. 

I've already said that it's estimated up to 70 additional staff are needed to sustain the overall service at the levels described by the actions and improvements in the 'February 2020 Floods in Wales' report. However, it is noted in the Climate Change Risk Assessment flooding in Wales report that the additional £1.25 million NRW received in revenue funding for 2020-21 was only used to employ 36 full-time equivalents, and that's half what is needed.

There are examples that NRW are not always on the ball. The vice-chairman of Magor with Undy Community Council, Councillor John Crook, highlighted last week how, despite asking NRW for a copy of a maintenance schedule with dates for clearing the reen, all they were provided with was a note saying what should be done generally. Is that good enough for a community that saw serious flooding last Christmas Eve? According to the Pentre section 19 report,

'the inlet had sufficient capacity to deal with the storm event, but its capacity was significantly reduced due to blockages which ultimately was the primary cause of flooding at Pentre during Storm Dennis.'

Both the asset and the extensive hillside above the community are managed by NRW. How many more errors need to be linked to NRW before the decisive action I am proposing is taken? 

Your 2021 budget committed £64.7 million to defend communities from flooding and coastal erosion, made up of £27.2 million resource and £37.5 million capital—most, in fact, was allocated to NRW. So, I remain concerned as to whether NRW are putting the millions that they receive to the best possible use. Last year, I highlighted the scandalous fact that, whilst NRW had quoted £150,000 to fix the Tan Lan embankment in Llanrwst, farmers had managed to do it for £15,000. So, there is a real need to question whether NRW investment in defending communities is actually costing more than it needs. 

When we are sure that flood defence projects are delivered in the most cost-effective way, we can be confident that, for every £1 increase in maintenance spending, almost £7 is saved in capital spending on defences. Importantly, a joint report published by ABI and Flood Re highlighted that an increase in current maintenance spending by 50 per cent could extend the lifespan of defences by an average of eight years. So, it does seem extremely sensible to do so.

According to the national strategy, landowners, partners and stakeholders have no other duties, other than a role to play as riparian landowners or asset owners. In addition to many individuals being unaware of their responsibilities, there are sections of ordinary watercourses where the owner of land is unknown, meaning that no riparian action is being taken. The situation is actually very dangerous, so I would be pleased if you would consider—and this is constructive opposition—ensuring that there is an ongoing campaign to improve riparian owners' awareness of their responsibilities. Please, put a system in place that identifies and assists riparian owners who are not fulfilling their duties, and often, when they become aware of these duties, are only too willing to do so.

As you will agree, flood risk must be considered at the earliest opportunity, not only to avoid inappropriate development, but also to enable the sustainable management of water. So, we should be acting on the calls of the ABI to amend building regulations in an effort to ensure an appropriate level of flood resilience is built into commercial and domestic properties as standard. According to the evidence for the third UK Climate Change Risk Assessment—CCRA3—report, the risks in Wales that have a high future magnitude score and where more action is required now include an increased severity and frequency of flooding of homes, communities and businesses. There is a collective chorus calling for more radical action on fighting floods. We know that we're receiving far more rainfall in a few hours now than we used to over several days. I hope that this Senedd will all work together now to deliver the changes needed; however, the levers, the power and the resources sit with you, Minister, so I would ask you to work with us across this Chamber and make these changes that are needed now. Thank you.

Thank you, Janet, for giving me a minute of your time. This is an important subject, and thank you for bringing it here for discussion and debate this evening. I too, like many others across this Chamber and beyond, share your concerns with NRW. But starting with positivity, I'm sure you'll join me in welcoming the announcement of a much-needed £10 million flood defence scheme in Lliswerry in Newport in my region. However, over the last two winters, several areas within my region of South Wales East have gone unhelped. My home county of Monmouthshire has significantly been impacted by flooding, and regularly there are flooding issues there. Many residents who were flooded in February in 2020, during storm Dennis, were flooded again last December. One local pub in Usk, the Olway, has suffered severe flooding 20 times in the last 15 years, and to add insult to injury, they have never received any financial help from the Welsh Government or support from NRW. Local fundraising is what helped them get back on their feet last time.

We need to see action from the Welsh Government and NRW to prevent further instances where flooding occurs regularly, devastating businesses, homes and livelihoods. It's imperative that we see more urgent investment in flood defences where and when they are needed to avoid the devastation that flooding causes, rather than leaving it and expecting different results. As one of your Labour MSs has said, Minister, investment in our flood defences must be a priority for this Government.

I'm eternally grateful to the Member for Aberconwy for giving me a minute of her time this evening. There are many towns around Wales built on rivers that are fighting a regular battle against the increasing extreme rainfall events often taking place further upstream. The ancient town of Carmarthen in my constituency of Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire is one such town, which suffers regularly from such occurrences, especially on the quay of the town, where the Towy burst its banks, water enveloped roads and threatened business premises three times over the course of nine weeks during the winter of 2020-21. Having attended meetings with the local MP and an action group set up with representatives of local businesses, I was extremely disappointed to learn that NRW and the Welsh Government appear to be passing the buck as to who is responsible for progressing a flood prevention scheme for the area. NRW are now claiming that the Welsh Government policy is to protect homes before businesses, and, unfortunately, due to this area of Carmarthen consisting of shops, offices and restaurants, it appears that no immediate action will be taken to address the problem.

Carmarthen is not the only settlement affected by this lack of action by the Welsh Government. It is right that we are protecting people's homes, but businesses are vital to the economic prosperity of the area and should not be forgotten by the Government. Minister, I hope the Member for Aberconwy's debate today has once again re-emphasised the urgency of the matter and may see the Welsh Government take some action to explore flood prevention measures such as dredging and demountable flood barriers to protect towns such as Carmarthen from devastating floods in the future. Diolch.

James Evans, and they've only left you 30 seconds.

Oh, I can get through 30 seconds no problem. Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. It's lovely to see one Plaid Cymru Member here, but it's a shame that Labour have neglected this, as they have neglected it for many years. Many towns in my constituency, like Builth Wells, Penybont, Ystradgynlais, Brecon, Crickhowell—I could go on like Janet Finch-Saunders, but I won't—are suffering with flooding problems on an annual basis. Many people in those towns have told me that dredging used to be done years ago to reduce the amount of shoals in our rivers, and we never had the flooding levels that we do today. NRW say they're overstretched, they're over-bureaucratic and things can't be put through the system, so I hope the Minister will look at dredging our rivers to make sure that our towns are safe and we don't actually put people out of their homes and actually get on with dealing with the problems that people face. Diolch.

A minute. Well done. [Laughter.]

I call on the Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales to reply to the debate. Lesley Griffiths. 

Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer, and thank you, Janet Finch-Saunders, for bringing forward this debate. I'm very happy to have the opportunity to respond on behalf of the Welsh Government. We are doing far more to tackle flooding in our communities than ever before. The previous 18 months, I think, have really laid bare the stark reality that faces us in Wales, and that is that the climate emergency is absolutely here. Severe weather events are happening more frequently, and we need to adapt. And that is the reason why this Government has created a new climate change ministry, to give us the power to do more and make significant changes. 

These are testing times for our communities in Wales, all against the backdrop of a global public health pandemic, but the resilience of our communities is remarkable. Our emergency services and risk-management authorities have worked tirelessly in the aftermath of floods, repairing damaged infrastructure and doing their utmost to keep our communities safe. The Welsh Government response has been swift and substantial. Since February 2020, we have provided nearly £9 million in funding to local authorities and Natural Resources Wales to fund repairs to our flood and drainage infrastructure, strengthening the resilience of our communities. The Welsh Government provided 100 per cent of the costs incurred as we sought to provide reassurance to residents who were unfortunately impacted by these events. Moreover, our sustained investment has proved its worth, with recently completed schemes working well and keeping people safe despite record rainfall and river levels. Over the past 18 months, our risk-management authorities have worked together not only in undertaking their investigations but delivering improvements to those communities affected. This Government's priority will always be our communities, but flood schemes are ideally placed to deliver multiple economic and environmental benefits. Transport and utilities are likely to benefit and support such work; as we plan ahead, we can align our funding programmes to get better value for our combined investment. 

When it comes to communication, the most important stakeholders remain the communities that we seek to help. There are difficult areas to defend and difficult conversations to be had, but we will continue to work with our communities to plan for their future, especially in those areas that face significant risks. We will continue to support them as they adapt. Some will require greater protection; others may need to move back to a safer location. These decisions will be made by closely monitoring evolving evidence and working with our local authorities, delivery partners, but, most importantly, the people who live and work there. 

Following May's election, we published our programme for government, and we've committed to an ambitious target to fund flood protection for more than 45,000 homes. We will also deliver nature-based flood management in all major river catchments, expanding wetland and woodland habitats in the process. Furthermore, we're supporting the restoration of sea grass and salt marsh habitats along our coastline, which brings with it additional coastal protection, alongside multiple biodiversity gains. These commitments signal our intent to deliver. We are supporting it with record levels of investment, allowing more schemes and more resources to be put in place. This year alone, we will invest over £65 million across Wales to support those living at risk of flooding and coastal erosion, and this includes £36 million capital investment directly in flood and coastal risk management assets. Our coastal risk management programme will see significant schemes commence this year to reduce current and future risks to our communities, including schemes in Cardiff, Swansea, Aberaeron, Aberdyfi and Penrhyn Bay in Conwy. This is a clear message from this Government that we will not accept flooding to homes as the new normal. We will plan carefully and invest in the right places to reduce risk, strengthen our communities and mitigate the effects of climate change. 

Last year, we published an ambitious new national strategy for flooding and coastal erosion in Wales. The strategy is improving how we work together to reduce risk, providing the direction required through clear objectives and measures. It is focused on delivering improvements—better communication, more natural solutions and catchment approaches, clarity over responsibilities and collaboration across all parties, improved mapping of risk and assets, preventing future risk by strengthening planning policy, stronger pipelines and acceleration of flood schemes.

The strategy isn't just about aspirations; it has set numerous measures by which its success can be judged. Many have already been met: we've published the Wales flood plan; we are delivering coastal surveys to inform future shoreline management decisions; we've launched our fully funded natural flood management programme. This Welsh Government is not just talking about change; it is delivering it. One of the most significant milestones in our strategy is the launch of our updated planning guidance around flood and coastal risk. The new technical advice note 15 was developed alongside the national strategy, complementing and strengthening our flood policy. Both are focused upon addressing the risk posed by climate change.

As our climate does change, the patterns of flooding and coastal erosion around Wales are changing and getting worse; extreme events are happening more often. Our strategy acknowledges that flooding is not just about rivers and seas. We place renewed emphasis upon the risks associated with surface water flooding and coastal erosion. And now, for the first time, the scope of TAN 15 has been widened to include the risk associated with surface water, smaller watercourses, drainage and coastal erosion. New developments in Wales will be safer as a result. TAN 15 is accompanied by a new flood map for planning that incorporates climate change. The new TAN 15, like our programme for government, is focused on the future. When we choose where new homes or schools or hospitals should be located, an area vulnerable to flooding, whether that's today or in 25 years' time, is not a sensible or sustainable choice.

NRW have published a new 'check your flood risk' service, and now householders have a quick and easy way of checking the risk to their home from rivers, the sea or surface water. This service forms part of our new flood map for Wales package, which will also demonstrate where our investment is benefiting communities and reducing people's flood and coastal risk. Our strategy has a key measure that ties Wales flood-map products to the management of assets so the public can see how our work and investment is making a difference to them.

But it is important to note that the nature of our flood-risk management assets are changing. Last year, when I had responsibility for flooding, I announced a new natural flood management programme to help encourage our risk management authorities to explore and develop natural flood management projects, and we've funded the programme with 100 per cent grant support. Already, the programme now includes 15 projects across 10 different risk management authorities, and, over the course of this programme, we will invest over £3 million to reduce flood risk to over 1,100 properties. Several of these projects have already been completed with works on site, and are working to reduce flood risk to affected communities. This pilot programme is just the start; it will help us to develop our understanding of natural flood management in Wales and the best way that we can deliver those projects. It is providing excellent examples of working in partnership with our communities, with our land owners and other organisations. And it's also demonstrating how such projects not only reduce flood risk but provide wider environmental and societal benefits.

I noted with interest the Tories' six-point transformative flood plan for Wales earlier this year, and I'm happy to reassure you that the Government has already set out what's in your flood plan, how they're already delivering on those matters, and introducing more robust ways to manage and reduce risk. NRW already have an overarching duty to oversee flood-risk management and do an excellent job of responding to flood events alongside our local authorities, and, of course, our emergency services. They've recognised where improvements are required and already stepped up their forecasting, mapping, flood warning systems and response to flood events, following the measures in our strategy and the lessons we learned from 2020.

We have our own blue belt policy in TAN 15; you will know how this is being strengthened to fully acknowledge the growing risk of climate change. I've demonstrated this evening how our planned investment programme is at record levels and how emergency funding was immediately made available following the major events of February 2020.

Whilst largely a reserved matter, flood insurance is something the Welsh Government has had a major influence in shaping, including the introduction of Flood Re. We continue to work with the industry to better promote this scheme and ensure residents know how it can be accessed, even if it's been declined in the past. We would welcome more support for businesses, but ultimately the decision not to include them in Flood Re was made by the UK Government. 

We do not feel there is a need for a separate independent inquiry, which Janet Finch-Saunders referred to, into the 2020 flooding in Rhondda Cynon Taf, which would divert flood officers' time away from delivery. The investigation reports, alongside NRW's review into that flooding, provided a comprehensive overview into the flood events. Our new strategy, planning guidance and flood and coastal programmes are delivering change and setting the direction for future ways of working. There is more to come, but the flood and coastal erosion committee is exploring ways to improve the legislation that we work within, and seeking new ways to support our work and bolster resources. 

Sadly, as the climate changes, we must all adapt, and this Government is looking forward, encouraging new ways of working, whilst ensuring our critical infrastructure keeps our communities safe. Diolch.

Thank you, Minister, and thank you, all. That brings today's proceedings to a close. 

The meeting ended at 17:41.