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.