Now, there was a 13-hour delay before NRW officials attended the scene after the alarm was raised. NRW said that the delay was due to officers attending to other high-priority pollution incidents and health and safety concerns for the one available officer. Now, an NRW investigation found that there was no realistic prospect of conviction against any company or individual for the event, and we'll never know what evidence might have been found if it weren't for the delay in investigating the incident. Now, I'm not repeating this story just to be critical of NRW and its staff. I know that NRW staff were heartbroken that the polluters got away with this destruction. But, of course, it is an important example of the real-world impact of a lack of resources and capacity.

Between its creation in 2013 and 2020, NRW’s budget reduced by over a third. And as its budget went in one direction, the scale of the job that was asked of the organisation to do went in the other direction. Over the years, the Welsh Government has piled additional responsibilities and duties upon NRW. Now, I and others here have repeatedly made the case in the Chamber and in various committees that NRW’s funding needs to be looked at seriously. The committee is therefore pleased that the Minister has at last decided to undertake a baseline review to map NRW’s duties and statutory functions against its funding. And I'm pleased that the Minister has finally recognised that there has been a gradual expansion in what NRW is being asked to deliver.

Now, the committee is of the view that this review is much needed. There has been a growing call from stakeholders for a review over recent years. Some have told us they are losing confidence in NRW's ability to fulfil its duties and responsibilities. And this wasn't criticism of staff, but a question of a lack of capacity and resources. We hope therefore that the baseline review, once completed, will provide clarity about what the Welsh Government expects from NRW and the type of organisation it is willing to pay for.

So, this is a very positive development, but it was a little disappointing, in looking at the small print in the Minister’s response, that the review won’t be concluded until the end of the 2022-23 financial year. I can understand the logic for the timing, but the progress that we're seeing is painfully slow, and we really need to see more urgency here, particularly as Members have been raising these concerns over many years now.

Of course, the baseline review doesn’t necessarily mean that there’ll be any more funding available at the end of the process. We as a committee have recommended that the Welsh Government must ensure that funding for NRW is commensurate with its roles and responsibilities, and we expect to see an appropriate increase in NRW funding following the baseline review. The Minister has accepted this recommendation in principle—of course she has, who wouldn't? It’s entirely reasonable to expect any organisation to be properly funded for the work it’s asked to do, isn’t it? But that hasn't been NRW’s story up to this point. I am pleased that the Minister has told us she is open to looking at funding levels and models as part of the baseline review, but, without funding commitments, well, I’m afraid the question remains as to whether this is an academic exercise or will we really see change.

There are a few points raised in the report on the governance of NRW. We welcomed the introduction of the full term of Government remit letter. It's a positive step, and it will give more certainty in medium-term planning, which is to be welcomed. The next iterations of NRW’s corporate and business plans have been delayed, however. But, as we now know that the baseline review won’t be concluded until the end of that financial year, I think this needs to be addressed, and, of course, I’ll be discussing this with NRW in due time.

We were told that staffing will be considered as a result of the baseline review, and we understand that this is a necessary part of the process. But NRW only recently undertook its own organisational redesign. So, we are concerned that another cycle of restructuring will make it even harder for NRW to focus on its core work.

Now, I hope I've covered the main themes of our report in the time available to me, given that it's only a half-hour debate this afternoon. But the question now is: where does this leave us as we near the end of NRW’s first decade? I can't believe that I'm saying that—it's been almost a decade since NRW was established. Well, there is some good news. The Welsh Government seems at long last to accept that a gap has developed between what NRW is being asked to do and the funding that it receives. That's positive. There are also positive steps being taken around governance arrangements, as I said, particularly with the full term of Government remit letter.

But, as I said earlier, if you look at the small print, it's not perhaps quite so positive, in the sense that the baseline review won't be completed until the end of the financial year, and there might not be an increase in funding even at the end of that process. And if there is no additional funding, of course, then, at the very minimum, I would hope that the Government would be willing to tell NRW what they no longer need to prioritise in delivering their functions.

But, a year from now, I do hope that I’ll be telling you about a very different outlook for NRW. But I am concerned that, despite the positive noises that we continue to hear, NRW's bumpy journey will continue. And if that is the case, then the question that I and the committee ask is: who knows how many more incidents we will see like the one on the River Llynfi? Thank you.