Written statement (Wales): Water Quality and Agricultural Pollution Regulations - Mar 31

Huw Irranca-Davies MS, Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs: The health of our terrestrial waterbodies and marine environment is critical for every person in Wales. From access to water for drinking, recreation and food production, to healthy, thriving ecosystems, the well-being of current and future generations is heavily dependent upon clean water. Because of its importance, the Welsh Government has been taking significant action to improve water quality.

In addition to a multi-year programme to improve water quality totalling over £40 million, we have committed a further £16m for mining remediation, worked with Ofwat and water companies to maximise the benefit of investment leading to an agreed investment of £6bn via Wales' two water companies, and progressed our SAC river summits.

Through the budget, we will see additional investment in water quality enforcement, primarily for Natural Resources Wales, as well as an extra £5m to improve delivery of planning and regulation work. I have also allocated £16m of capital funding dedicated specifically to address water quality issues, an increase of £3m overall from the last budget.

Since the introduction of the Water Resources (Control of Agricultural Pollution) (Wales) Regulations 2021 (CoAP), the Welsh Government has made available £52m in financial support for farms to invest in infrastructure to address the causes of agricultural pollution, helping farmers to operate more sustainably. Supplementary to this, the Welsh Government continues to fund enforcement of the regulations by Natural Resources Wales, with £1.58m committed for the 2025-26 financial year.

However, water quality in Wales is still being detrimentally impacted and we must continue to make improvements. Whilst the causes of pollution are not limited to any one sector, agriculture remains one of the main contributors. 

In July of 2024, I announced the appointment of Dr Susannah Bolton to oversee the 4-year review of the CoAP Regulations. The purpose of the review is to consider the effectiveness of the measures imposed by the regulations as a means of reducing or preventing water pollution from agricultural sources. The review delivers on our Programme for Government commitment to work with the farming community to deploy the regulations taking an approach targeted at those activities known to cause pollution.

I would like to thank Dr Bolton for her work on the review. Dr Bolton has been thorough, not only reviewing the regulations in light of the available technical evidence but taking considerable effort to engage extensively with a wide range of stakeholders and interested parties, before arriving at the conclusions. 

I would also like to thank the stakeholders who contributed to the review. I am pleased to acknowledge the positive engagement with the process, with open and honest feedback received. Whilst many concerns were raised about the regulations, and many suggestions for change provided, there was also wide recognition that agricultural pollution is having a detrimental impact on our environment and action must be taken to address this. I am confident the recommendations contained within the review demonstrate those raising concerns have been listened to. 

I am pleased the general regulatory approach we have taken has been endorsed by the review, yet opportunities for change have also been identified with potential benefits for both farmers and the environment. The review has concluded a whole-Wales approach is needed to help farms to prevent and reduce pollution, which targets the risks of pollution. It also sets out the need for a significant programme of work, which will include short, medium and long-term action, to make and explore further improvements to the regulations.

The recommendations can be summarised as: (i) improving targeting of the regulations at polluting activities, whilst reducing the regulatory burden in respect of low-risk farming activities; (ii) improving the accessibility of the regulations, to provide clarity to farmers on implementation; (iii) further exploring alternative measures, including to the closed periods and the manure holding limit of 170kg of nitrogen per hectare; (iv) facilitating innovation; and (v) addressing regulatory gaps, including in relation to soil protection measures and through improvements to the nutrient management planning requirements. 

I intend to take forward the recommendations in full and at pace. There are some recommendations we will be able to address imminently, particularly those which would make the regulations more accessible, which may help to mitigate the impact of the regulations on farmer well-being. These include recommendations focussing on improvements to definitions and clarification of provisions. 

However, the evidence behind the regulations is complex and many of the recommendations will require significant involvement of scientific and agronomic expertise to progress. These include further consideration of alternatives to the current measures, including the fixed closed periods for the spreading of manure and the 170kg limit, which applies to the amount of nitrogen from livestock manures which can be applied per hectare, averaged across the holding. As part of this work, I intend to explore making available some of the additional £10m allocated to the rural investment schemes in the final 25/26 Welsh Government budget to explore and potentially pilot alternative approaches to the closed periods.   

The indicative economic impact assessment of the 170kg limit forms part of the evidence underpinning the review. Whilst the assessment identifies a range of potential costs, these are based on significant caveats which highlight the uncertainty in determining precise figures. The assessment identifies most farms have a range of options available to them to meet this requirement. Furthermore, the report identified that the limit may in some cases incentivise farms to operate above the crop need for phosphorus, which could constitute a breach of Environmental Permitting Regulations. Careful consideration of this complex issue will be needed.

In undertaking the review, Dr Bolton maintained the principle that the outcome of any recommendations must further reduce the risk of agricultural pollution. I fully agree with this principle. The review is also clear, that the regulations must stand until such time as the recommendations are concluded.

Any changes to the regulations will be developed collaboratively with stakeholders, building on the positive nature of engagement during the review process. This recognises the findings of the review, that the outcomes of the regulations are intrinsically linked to the ability of farmers to implement them. Central to this will be ensuring the farming community is confident that any changes to the regulations are fair and proportionate. 

I have asked my officials to draw up a strategic programme of work to take forward the recommendations, the details of which will be made available in the coming weeks. 

The full report, including the recommendations, has been published on the Welsh Government website.