MS, Deputy First Minister and Cabinet
Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs: The independently
chaired Review of the Control of Agricultural Pollution
Regulations (CoAP Regulations) was completed in March this year.
On 31 March, I announced my intention to take forward all 23
recommendations in full and at pace. We must clean up our rivers
and coastal waters.
There is a role for government, water companies, farmers,
environmental organisations, supply chains and many others. We
need to go further than we have before, challenge each other more
than we have before, and we need to move quickly to make real
improvements. The Water Summit, held on 25 September, focussed
specifically on agriculture. The implementation of the
recommendations resulting from the review is a key component of
this work and I want to update the Senedd on progress.
Stakeholder engagement and process
Due to the complex and technical nature of the recommendations
and the importance of a collaborative approach, I will be using
the experience gained from the SFS stakeholder engagement process
to inform the way forward. I have asked my officials to establish
a new task and finish group to engage on the recommendations and
inform the development of proposals. We will shortly be issuing a
call for expressions of interest.
Final decisions will be for Welsh Ministers. However, given the
importance of this work to a range of stakeholders, I will make
sure the SFS Ministerial Roundtable and the eNGO roundtable are
sighted on progress. Furthermore, any proposals for substantive
changes to the regulations will require formal consultation and
will need to be underpinned by the necessary Impact Assessments.
To underpin this work, officials are drafting technical
specifications for work to be carried out by contractors with
scientific and agronomic expertise. The specifications include
exploratory work on key recommendations, including alternatives
to the closed periods and the 170kg limit and soil protection
measures. The Welsh Government is engaging with the Construction
Industry Research and Information Association (CIRIA) - a
neutral, independent and not-for-profit body - on its review of
industry guidance on best practice in relation to slurry storage
for designers, contractors and agricultural operators to inform
future slurry storage designs.
Cross compliance and enforcement
The Welsh Government has committed £1.58m for NRW's enforcement
of the Regulations in the 2025-26 financial year, which targets
high-risk agricultural activities. Officials are reviewing
the cross-compliance process with the intention to ensure farms
are not penalised where they have taken the appropriate steps to
mitigate the risks of pollution in challenging circumstances and
a breach of cross compliance is as a result of being under TB
restrictions. I am keen for the task and finish group to explore
this issue early and to develop a sustainable and long-term
solution.
As a reminder, where non-compliance with the Regulations has
occurred, my officials and NRW are also able to consider any
unforeseen Exceptional Circumstances which may have resulted in a
breach of Cross Compliance. Where farmers consider that any
non-compliance is due to unforeseen matters beyond their control,
circumstances can be considered on a case-by-case basis, this
could include being under TB restrictions.
I have also instructed officials to carry forward the changes
within the Cross Compliance Verifiable Standards introduced in
October 2024, in respect of silage and slurry storage and field
sites. This change enabled a more proportionate approach to
penalties and will remain in place until regulatory change in
this area has been explored.
The review concluded that consideration should be given to
provide an appropriate and proportionate enforcement mechanism,
through the application of civil sanctions. Independently from
the review of the CoAP Regulations, as part of the proposals
resulting from the Agriculture (Wales) White Paper, we have been
exploring the potential for a more flexible and proportionate
enforcement approach through civil sanctions. Subject to the
outcome of consultation, the inclusion of civil sanctions will
continue to be considered in respect of further changes to the
CoAP Regulations.
