Diolch yn fawr, Dirprwy Lywydd. At the start of the sixth Senedd, the committee agreed to scrutinise the ongoing operation of the interim environmental protection measures that we have here in Wales. Members will recall, I'm sure, that these measures were put in place to address widespread concern about the impending environmental governance gap in Wales following the UK's departure from the European Union. The measures provide a mechanism for the public to submit complaints to an independent interim environmental protection assessor about the functioning of environmental law. Having considered any such complaints, the interim assessor then can can recommend the Minister takes action, with a view to making improvements to the law. Our report covers the first full year of the operation of the interim measures and was informed by evidence from key environmental stakeholders and from Dr Nerys Llewelyn Jones, the interim assessor, who appeared before us in June of this year.

As a committee, we made eight recommendations, two to the interim assessor and six to the Welsh Government. They were all accepted in full, so we'd like to thank the Minister and the interim assessor for their positive responses. Although it's still early days for the interim assessor service, we are, and we were indeed, encouraged by how much it has achieved in its first year, and with limited capacity and limited resources as well, actually. While the service has experienced some teething problems, by and large it's managed to overcome these. But there's still room for improvement, of course, as is reflected in our report.

The interim measures fulfil an important function and could, potentially, help improve the working of environmental law. But, of course, they're a far cry from the EU's environmental governance system. This is in no way a criticism of the interim assessor’s performance or the work of the service to date. It is, however, a criticism of the Welsh Government for failing to prioritise legislation in order to establish a fully functioning, well-resourced oversight body for Wales.

As we wait with growing impatience for legislation to be brought forward, all other UK nations now have statutory oversight bodies up and running. Although they might not be perfect, these bodies provide key governance functions of compliance and enforcement, and uphold citizens' rights to access environmental justice. So, Minister, do Wales's citizens not deserve the same? I'm sure they do, and I'm sure you will agree, and I'm sure you will elaborate when you respond. But we cannot have Wales's reputation downgraded from a nation that puts the environment and sustainable development at its heart to one with the weakest environmental governance structures in western Europe.

Now, the Minister has confirmed that the interim assessor's appointment has been extended for a year, up until February 2024. It would be unthinkable for a statutory oversight body not to be in place before then. But, with just over a year to go, and with no evidence of any real progress towards the development of legislative proposals, the feeling is that it isn't looking promising. So, the interim measures seemingly will be in place longer than expected, and, for many, longer than is acceptable. That said, it's important to make the very best out of what we have, and our recommendations in our report were made with this, of course, in mind.

So, briefly then, recommendations 2 and 3 aim to improve public awareness of the service and increase transparency in its work. And we're pleased to hear that the interim assessor has already made progress in taking these forward.

Turning to our recommendations for the Welsh Government, recommendation 5 calls for an urgent review of the resources available to the interim assessor, reflecting on the high demand for the service and the need to deliver timely outputs in the form of reports. The Minister has accepted this recommendation, which is very much a good start. As made clear in our report, the review must be completed sooner rather than later. Hopefully, Minister, you can give us an indication of how this work is progressing as you respond to this debate.

Moving on to the process of dealing with reports by the interim assessor, we’re concerned that this lacks clarity. While we acknowledge the Welsh Government is under no obligation to formally respond to the assessor’s reports and recommendations, it really must commit to doing this. We consider a clearly defined process is essential to ensure transparency, to strengthen accountability and to build public confidence, of course, in the interim measures. Recommendations 6 and 7 in our report address this issue.

Finally, we asked the Welsh Government to explain how it’s monitoring the effectiveness of the interim measures, including their impact on environmental outcomes. The short answer is that it’s not. So, Minister, how will you know what success looks like unless suitable monitoring arrangements are in place to measure it?

Members will see that our recommendations are very much about fine tuning the interim measures to ensure they are the best they can be. But we are clear that no matter how effective these measures may be, they are no substitute for a permanent environmental oversight body. We'll continue, of course, to press the Welsh Government on this issue throughout the remainder of this Senedd term. Diolch.