‘Grave concern’ at Natural Resources Wales plan to reduce responses to pollution incidents

Emily Price

A Senedd committee has expressed “grave concern” at Natural Resources Wales (NRW) plans to reduce responses to pollution incidents.

The Climate Change, Environment and Infrastructure Committee’s annual scrutiny of the environmental watchdog highlighted several worrying aspects of how it plans to monitor things like fly-tipping, illegal chemical dumping and water pollution.

NRW proposes to focus on larger incidents and to adopt a “higher tolerance of risk” in how they manage reports of pollution in Wales.

The committee’s conclusion is that “years of under investment” have stretched NRW too thin and that the body is already not funded sufficiently to deal with enforcement of environmental crimes in Wales.

‘Insufficient’

NRW told members of the committee that the current levels of fines and sanctions available to it are insufficient to have the desired effect on polluters.

Today’s report calls on them to explain where it feels the level of fines is too low for it to be able to perform its environmental regulation duties effectively.

In March this year, visitor centres at Coed y Brenin, Ynyslas and Bwlch Nant yr Arian were closed by NRW as a cost-cutting measure.

Although the regulator has committed to reopening visitor centres, the committee said there is no clear timetable for this.

The report says that new proposals for the visitor centres should have been developed before the centres were closed and that this should now be published “as a matter of urgency”.

‘Failures’

In October 2024, the Welsh Government stepped in to pay a £19m tax bill owed by NRW to HM Revenue and Customs, following the incorrect classification of workers’ tax status.

The committee said this mistake highlighted “serious governance failures” at the organisation.

The committee has called on NRW and the Welsh Government for assurances that improved oversight is in place and that lessons are learned through a comprehensive review.

Chair of the Climate Change, Environment and Infrastructure Committee, Llyr Gruffydd, said: “Recent decisions made by NRW are deeply troubling and raise questions about the future of environmental stewardship in Wales.

“By choosing to adopt a ‘higher tolerance of risk,’ NRW risks turning a blind eye to pollution incidents that, while perhaps deemed less impactful, still erode the health of our ecosystems and communities.

“NRW’s approach, a consequence of years of inadequate funding in the regulator, is gravely concerning. It leaves Wales vulnerable to environmental damage and fails to honour the values that should guide such a vital body.

“Additionally, the closure of visitor centres – spaces that connect people to our natural beauty – feels like an abandonment of public trust. It is unacceptable that no credible plan or timetable to reopen these centres has been provided yet – something that should have been developed long before the closures.”

Challenge

NRW says it takes its responsibilities for protecting the environment “very seriously” but that the last year has been a “significant period of change and challenge”.

Ceri Davies, Interim Chief Executive at Natural Resources Wales said: “We will always prioritise incidents that pose the highest risk to people and nature, putting people on the ground if needed, and ensuring a response that is risk-based, intelligence-led, and data-driven.

“Our corporate plan to 2030 also commits us to minimising pollution through more effective prevention and response. A key part of this work involves enhancing the way we assess and respond to environmental incidents.”

NRW says that most incidents of pollution are low-level, often with little or no environmental impact.

Ms Davies said: “We want the public to be assured that responding to incidents with the highest risk to nature and people will always be our top priority. In our pursuit of progressive and faster regulation we have been actively seeking additional powers to consider civil sanctions for a broader range of environmental offences, as an additional tool in our enforcement toolkit.

“We want our colleagues to focus on proactive compliance inspection programmes. We’re also working proactively to prevent pollution by promoting responsible business, managing land and water sustainably, improving the resilience of our ecosystems and reducing risks to people and communities.

“By focusing more of our efforts on prevention and compliance, we aim to reduce risks at their source—delivering better outcomes for people and the environment.”

Assurance

Regarding the committee’s concern over NRW’s £19m tax bill, the environmental body said it had put a number of controls in place.

Ms Davies said: “To provide additional assurance, our new procedures and controls have been independently reviewed by external advisers.

“Their findings have supported our efforts to build a robust, compliant resourcing approach that mitigates risk and prevents a recurrence of these historic issues.”

On visitor centre closures, NRW said it’s sites still remain open.

Ms Davies said: “This includes the paths, trails, car parks, play areas and toilet facilities, and the important work undertaken to protect wildlife and maintain these sites continues to be overseen by our land management staff.

“Our strategy for how we manage access to nature on the land in our care means we need to focus our efforts where we are best placed to make a difference. This includes maximising the benefits from every pound we spend, that we deliver value for money, and ensuring that outdoor recreation is managed within resource limits.

“Over recent weeks and months, our focus has been firmly placed on the process to find partners, both community groups and businesses, to register an interest in providing services at the visitor centres.

“We have secured a beverage and cold food concession which is now operating at Bwlch Nant yr Arian, full-time site management for the beach car park at Ynyslas and have advertised opportunities for a mobile beverage and ice cream unit concession at Ynyslas, and a cold food and beverage concession at Coed y Brenin.

“We want to make sure we get it right to avoid confusion and any potential issues in the future and we believe it is important to take the necessary time now for a smooth process later on. All updates related to visitor centre provisions can be found on our information page.”

The Welsh Government said: “We thank the committee for its report and will consider its recommendations carefully.”